When the face mask mandate was dropped in South Africa in June, charity organisation, Red Ruby Pads, established an initiative to up-cycle cloth masks into reusable sanitary towels for the underprivileged and have joined forces with Jeffreys Bay-based podcast, She’s Lowkey Extra, to spread awareness in the Kouga region.
Founder of Red Ruby Projects, Amber Wicks, said the organisation, which is based in Gqeberha, designs and donates reusable sanitary towels to young girls and women in need.
“I wanted to supply as many girls as possible with reusable sanitary towels to keep them in school all month long.
“Girls in disadvantaged areas are missing up to a week of school a month, tests and exams, resulting in them dropping out of school and missing out on vital opportunities to better their lives,” said Wicks.
“Women are also missing work because they do not always have sanitary towels to get them through the day, which often results in them being fired and not receiving proper referrals from their previous employers.”
Wicks said when the face mask mandate ended on June 22, her sister, Samantha Pelser, suggested she transform the cloth masks into sanitary towels.
She was then inspired to establish the Masks2Pads initiative to request that the public donate their cloth masks and the additional material needed to up-cycle the masks into reusable sanitary towels.
To her surprise, the support for the initiative has been great and she has received approximately 10kg of cloth masks and 20 – 30kg in additional material needed to create the reusable sanitary towels.
“We need to empower women wherever we can and be able to use all the tools we are given available to us.
“To disappear from society for up to a week should not be happening in today’s age. If we can contribute in this one small way and help even just a handful of women to achieve their full potential, we will be happy,” said Wicks.
To further spread the wonderful work done by Red Ruby Pads, Marcia Boyens and Carien Strydom, who are the founders and presenters of She’s Lowkey Extra, a podcast based in Jeffreys Bay, have joined forces with the organisation.
Boyens said the podcast, which focuses on female empowerment, with weekly episodes on the female experience, have used the platform to spread awareness about the up-cycled reusable sanitary towels.
In addition, they have become volunteers in the Kouga region to collect cloth masks from individuals and various organisations.
“As women, we deeply understand the need for access to feminine hygiene products. We believe in community education, and that the stigma around period care must be removed,” said Boyens.
“We set our intentions on taking hands with an organisation that aims at empowering the women of our country, especially in the aspect of providing dignity for girls and young women, and when I read about Amber and her project Red Ruby Pads, I immediately felt inspired to reach out and connect.”
Boyens said once they have enough funding and volunteers the reusable sanitary towels would be distributed to those in need in the Kouga region.
She said those who are interested in the Masks2Pads initiative can listen to their podcast which is available on all major streaming platforms or visit their Instagram and Facebook pages on @sheslowkeyextra.
- For further information visit the Red Ruby Pads Facebook page, email Redrubyprojects@gmail.com or contact Amber Wicks on 072 594 2411.
