Igniting Change: Combating Period Poverty on Mandela Day

1 min read
period poverty nonprofit organizations

Renowned gym, Ignite Fitness, is collaborating with the MENstruation Foundation on Mandela Day to combat period poverty. With a presence in 10 locations across South Africa, Ignite Fitness is hosting an Open Month during July to raise awareness and garner support for this worthy cause.

The MENstruation Foundation: Restoring Dignity to Women and Girls

The MENstruation Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating period poverty and providing dignity to women and girls. In South Africa, girls regularly miss school or stay home due to menstruation, with the surrounding culture of silence exacerbating the issue. To date, the foundation has managed to garner nearly 40,000 donated sanitary products.

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Ignite Fitness’ Open Month and Unity Challenge

Ignite Fitness’ partnership with the MENstruation Foundation aims to collect sanitary products and ensure that girls do not miss school due to menstruation. The Open Month is an invitation for both members and non-members to train at the gym, with the goal of collecting more sanitary products. Lauren Vanacore, Global Marketing Manager for Ignite Fitness, emphasizes the potential impact of their partnership with the MENstruation Foundation.

Fighting Injustice and Restoring Equality

The collaboration between Ignite Fitness and the MENstruation Foundation demonstrates the power of collective action in addressing injustice. By providing sanitary products to girls in need, they aim to break the culture of silence surrounding menstruation and help them regain their right to education.

The Unity Challenge: Raising Awareness and Collecting Donations

The Unity Challenge, which took place across all Ignite Fitness clubs, serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle against period poverty and the importance of community involvement to bring about positive change.

The partnership between Ignite Fitness and the MENstruation Foundation is a powerful example of how communities can come together to combat period poverty and bring about meaningful change. Through initiatives like the Open Month and Unity Challenge, they are breaking societal barriers and providing girls with the resources they need to thrive.

Thabo Sebata is a Cape Town-based journalist who covers the intersection of politics and daily life in South Africa's legislative capital, bringing grassroots perspectives to parliamentary reporting from his upbringing in Gugulethu. When not tracking policy shifts or community responses, he finds inspiration hiking Table Mountain's trails and documenting the city's evolving food scene in Khayelitsha and Bo-Kaap. His work has appeared in leading South African publications, where his distinctive voice captures the complexities of a nation rebuilding itself.

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