While South Africa has joined other countries in removing VAT on sanitary pads, many women still cannot afford to buy them and as a result are forced to miss school and work.

It is against this backdrop that students from the Supply Chain Students Association (SCSA) at the School of Management, IT and Governance held a sanitary pad drive on the Westville campus. The more than 2 000 sanitary pads donated by students, staff and other stakeholders were distributed to various organisations as well as rural dwellers who were victims of the flash floods which left many people across KwaZulu-Natal destitute.

The first drop off was at the Kerr House in Durban which houses 15 women at a time, including survivors of physical, mental and emotional abuse as well as those that have experienced divorce and trauma.

The team also dropped off pads at an informal settlement at the bottom of Varsity Drive near the Westville campus. This community suffered severely due to the flash floods, with many people losing their homes as well as food, clothing and other essentials.

The third drop off was at Banana City informal settlement at the top of Varsity Drive. Older members of the community assisted by identifying houses inhabited by younger women.

During the community outreach programme, the team was exposed to the difficult conditions confronting many people. “We worked together as a team to make this event successful and are very happy with the outcome. We are also looking forward to working together on other community development programmes,” said team SCSA.

Words: Lungile Ngubelanga

Photographs: Supplied