The Power Pad Girls, are an intersectional feminist organisation that raise money to buy reusable pads for school girls who can't afford them. Thousands of Namibian school girls miss an average of 3 school days a month because they can’t afford menstrual products, and that has a knock on effect on the quality of education that they receive. Girls use pieces from old mattresses, newspapers and in some cases leaves to catch their menses.
Who They Are
We are a group of likeminded young Namibian women in our 20s who believe that no girl should miss out on school because she cannot afford menstrual products.,Since 2015, we have raised more than N$40000 for this cause and have had our pads delivered to girls across the country in partnership with Sister Namibia’s Sister Pad Project who supply the pad kit - which includes two reusable pads and four inlays cost all for the cost N$150. These pads can last for up to two years if taken well care of, and we have chosen to focus on reusable pads because they are more cost effective, and environmentally friendly unlike single use menstrual products.
Their Aims and Objectives
● To help engage our government to provide FREE reusable menstrual pads for all school girls.
● To challenge the stigma, misinformation, and taboos around sexual and reproductive health
● To foster a culture of consent and understanding of sexual rights and autonomy for every Namibian girl and woman
● To create a network of self employment and sustainability for unemployed Namibian women by becoming self sufficient reusable pad makers and suppliers.
How Do They Do It?
In order to engage our government, they want to conduct intensive research on the problem at hand, and compile a report on our findings, with this data they will be able to better understand the scope of the problem and find ways to address it.
To help challenge the stigma, misinformation, and taboos around sexual and reproductive health they plan on providing workshops to school girls and boys to understand their bodies, and respect them, as well as provide training to teachers and educators.
Namibia has a rape and sexual assault epidemic, to help curb this trend they want to provide sexual consent workshops so that all Namibians, young and old understand consent, and how to respect each other’s sexual autonomy.
And lastly their long term goal is to help curb unemployment with women in Namibia by training them how to make reusable pads, supplying them with the materials at a discounted rate so that they can pick up entrepreneurial skills, and be able to sustain themselves and their families.
To find out more about what they do, please do not hesitate to contact them at powerpadgirls@gmail.com. You can support the Power Pad Girls through the purchase of a ticket and purchasing art at the Charity Art Auction. Tickets are limited, (only 20 available) for only N$200 from the PayToday app, the Today.com.na website and the Airtime City kiosks.
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