The Young Alumni and Student Committee (YASCOM) of the University of Pretoria (UP), in collaboration with Junior Tukkie, donated sanitary pads to Pledge a Pad at UP’s Hatfield Campus on Monday, 4 April 2016.

Pledge a Pad is a non-profit organisation that collects sanitary pads for women and girls living in underprivileged areas, and distributes them at the University and in schools and orphanages around Pretoria. Members of the organisation also educate young women about feminine hygiene.

Among the items collected at their Give-what-you-can campaign, which took place at the Piazza on the Hatfield Campus in September last year, YASCOM received 25 packets of sanitary pads. Karabo Rankapole, UP student and Secretary of YASCOM, said, ‘It was important to us that we give these pads to Pledge a Pad as a sign that we are aware of what they are doing and acknowledge, appreciate and support their efforts.’

YASCOM functions under the umbrella of the Alumni Relations Office in the Department of University Relations (DUR), and aims to raise awareness and encourage support for alumni activities. They believe that charity begins at home, so before trying to find charitable causes outside of the University, they first look within the UP community for areas in which they can make a difference.

Pledge a Pad will distribute the donated pads to the clinic on the Hatfield Campus by Wednesday, 6 April. Reabetswe Moloi, UP student and President of Pledge a Pad, says, ‘There is no formal procedure to be followed. Students in need of sanitary pads can just go to the clinic and ask.’

For more information on how to donate or support this initiative, please send an email to [email protected].