Outreach: Help a girl

Observatory Outreach Initiative in Sutherland: “Help a Girl”

 

helpagirl

The Observatory has established a relationship with the Sutherland community and hopes to make a difference in the schools there (as a start). The “Help A Girl” initiative aims to keep the girls in school and empower female learners by providing them with sanitary protection.

For a lot of girls from disadvantaged backgrounds reaching puberty means a decline in school attendance. Every month a shocking number of young women are missing school because they cannot afford sanitary products during their menstrual cycles. This leads to girls missing about 25 percent of school every year, and in some cases even dropping out completely. These girls resort to using old clothing, rags, paper, etc which can lead to infections.

If you would like to make a donation, we are collecting sanitary towels every month to be collected in Cape Town at the SAAO, and in Sutherland at the Observatory’s visitor center. The boxes will be sent to Sutherland High School and Roggeveld Primary School to be distributed between the students. We can all help to keep the girls motivated to dream about their future instead of feeling humiliated and embarrassed about menstruation. Any contribution will have a big impact in a girl’s future!

For more information please contact Elias Aydi: eaydi(at)saao.ac.za or Itumeleng Monageng: itu(at)saao.ac.za.