Imagine having to choose between buying food and buying sanitary products. Or missing lectures because you simply cannot afford the essentials.
For many South African university students, period poverty is a very real barrier to education.
In 2023, Stellenbosch University introduced its #EndPeriodPoverty initiative to help address this challenge, installing sanitary pad dispensing machines on its campuses to give students free, convenient and discreet access to essential menstrual products.
The initiative forms part of the University's Bridge the Gap programme, which helps students overcome financial challenges that could otherwise stand in the way of their studies.
With three dispensing machines designed to supply approximately 1,100 packs of sanitary pads every month, the programme is helping remove one unnecessary worry from students' lives.
Recognising the importance of this initiative, Proud Partners began contributing R10,000 annually in 2024, an ongoing commitment to helping students focus on their education rather than the affordability of basic necessities.
It's a relatively modest contribution towards a much bigger challenge. But it reflects a belief that has guided Proud Partners for more than two decades.
Sometimes, creating opportunity begins with removing an obstacle.
Because a student's future should never depend on something as basic as being able to afford sanitary products.