Linekela Halwoodi

A torn-up t-shirt, toilet paper, a sock stuffed with old clothes and newspaper – these are all the things less fortunate girls in Africa and around the world have used and continue to use as a substitute for sanitary pads.

In Africa, it is reported that at least one in 10 girls will miss school for the duration of their menstruation process due to not having access to proper sanitary products.

This is where the Erongo-based non-government organisation, the Lotus Foundation, comes in for girls and women in need.

The Lotus Foundation was founded by Marilyn Eibes in 2020, and it operates in the rural areas of the Erongo region, specifically in the Daures constituency.

“The vision of the foundation is to provide support to the marginalised menstruating adolescents through sustainable support, education and provision of sanitary pads,” Eibes said.

Eibes says the move to set up the foundation was motivated by need, “as a woman, I think it was just painful and disheartening to hear the stories of girls who are not able to go to school because they don’t have sanitary pads. Or a woman who is not able to go to work because she does not have sanitary pads. 

“As a woman, it kind of felt that they are being punished for a natural function – a biological function of their bodies as a female. So, that was too painful. For sanitary pads, a packet is only N$10, yet there are girls or women who are not able to live their life to the fullest because they do not have access to it. That was it”.

Period poverty happens when girls and women are not able to manage their menstruation hygienically or safely – meaning they do not have access to sanitary products on a monthly basis. They do not have access to medication to help manage their cramps; they do not have access to water to be hygienic when they are menstruating, or they do not have access to toilet facilities to manage their menstruation.

In Erongo region, school-going girls do not go to school when they do not have sanitary pads. 

When they do, they do not focus on learning because, “if she has a high or strong flow that day and she only has one pad. There is a scare of standing up in class because their skirt might have a blood stain. That discomfort while sitting in class or just not showing up is what they are going through,” said Eibes.

The Lotus Foundation approached five primary schools in the Daures constituency, as beneficiaries of the foundation on a monthly basis, by providing them with sanitary pads.

“These girls in need of support are identified by the life skills teachers. On a monthly basis, these girls would get two packets of sanitary pads and then the school would get an additional box of sanitary pads for emergency cases – in case a girl is caught off guard by her period and does not have a pad in her bag. Through the life skills teachers, we have also been able to provide them with education on menstrual hygiene; how do you dispose of your pad hygienically – just those conversations. As the Lotus Foundation, we aim to not only provide sanitary pads but we also want to educate the girl child about menstrual health and hygiene – and for 2023, we have added new partner schools in the Daures constituency,” she said.

The Lotus Foundation is currently only funded by its board members, and it is open to receiving donations in the form of sanitary and hygienic items from any interested donor.