NO PADS, NO SCHOOL - GIRL'S EDUCATION GOING DOWN THE TOILET It’s hard for you and I to imagine that there are 2.1 million young girls, between the ages of 12 and 18 years, who have to resort to using old clothes, rags, newspapers, leaves, bark and grass because they cannot afford sanitary towels. The result, according to UNICEF, is that 1 in every 10 schoolgirls in Africa miss classes or drop out of school completely. Girls who cannot afford pads or tampons miss approximately 5 days of school a month, which amounts to 60 missed school days a year. Without sanitary products, girls are excluded from their right to an education as stipulated by the Constitution of South Africa. Every girl in South Africa deserves access to safe and hygienic sanitary products. Our goal is to help girls reclaim the dignity that poverty denies them and enable girls to make a lasting and positive impact on the communities they live in. The solution? ‘Dignity Dreams’ reusable sanitary pads. These are a sustainable resource, allowing girls to wash and reuse them rather than having to buy disposable sanitary pads every month. In addition, they are inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Disposable sanitary pads take up to 500 years to disintegrate. We employ unskilled women in Pretoria, transferring skills for their economic empowerment. ‘Dignity Dreams’ packs cost R80.00 per pack and can be used for 2 years Contact Sandra Millar sandra@sandramillar.co.za Tel 012 430 2630 or 082 555 4905