29 May 2022

Debswana in partnership with Agora Club Botswana have donated 2 000 re-usable sanitary pads worth over P300 000 to 39 schools in Boteti.
Debswana also donated 2 125 rechargeable solar lamps worth P350 000 as well as 3 750 books titled, My Body belongs to me authored by Ms Onica Lekuntwane.
The pads were manufactured by a citizen-owned company, The Chosen Pads.

Speaking at the official handing over of the pads in Orapa recently, Debswana Senior Support Services Manager Mr Brian Makhwaje said the aim was to assist learners by keeping them in school which would help improve their academic performance.

The manager said it was disturbing to note that a girl-child was forced to stay at home, missing school for an entire week every month because she lacked sanitary pads.
 Mr Makhwaje said it was also sad to note that due to increasing costs of sanitary pads, girls were forced to improvise, sometimes using of unhygienic material that placed them at risk of infections, including cervical cancer.

He said the donation would help them take care of their bodies.
“All these negative developments mean that our girls lose their self-esteem, time from school, disadvantaging the girl-child to climb the socio-economic ladder and this is where Debswana comes in to help,” he said.

He stated through its  Building Forever Strategy, Debswana  pledged to restore dignity of girls through assistance that could give them peace of mind and allow them to focus on their studies.
For her part the Founder of The Chosen Pads Ms Malebogo Madigele-Letsatle said the company was a cloth pad revolution and was started due to lack of  sustainable sanitary pads.

Ms Madigele-Letsatle said the aim was to do away with transactional sex as some girls engaged in sexual activities to earn money to buy sanitary pads.
The objective was also to save the girl-child from humiliation and restore her dignity.

She stated that the pad had wings and press studs that held it together in one position. She said the pad was safe, did not leak, had no smell and could be used about four to eight times.
In addition, she said the pad was eco-friendly, budget friendly and was tested by Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS).

The founder and first president of Agora Botswana, Ms Kgomotso Tshekiso, said keeping girls in school required comprehensive strategies that took in to account all factors that disadvantaged the girl-child.
Ms Tshekiso stated that members of Agora Botswana embarked on a campaign to raise funds and awareness about the plight of adolescent girls who missed school during their menstrual cycle due to lack of appropriate sanitary wear.

She noted that Agora Club Botswana signed a memorandum of understanding with Debswana Diamond Company in 2020. The Chief Education Officer in Boteti Ms Milidzani Nduna said majority of the pupils could not afford to buy sanitary pads.

Ms Nduna said there had been instances where girl learners cut mattresses at the school hostel to use as  pads.
She said the donation would go a long way in changing the lives of the girl-child. ENDS