South African social entrepreneur has launched reusable sanitary pads for young girls who live in disadvantaged communities. It took Sherie “Palesa” De Wet six months of research and testing to come up with Palesa Reusable Sanitary Pads. This idea came to de Wet back in 2017 when she read an article about girls in underprivileged communities missing school due to a lack of access to menstrual sanitaryware.
To date, De Wet and her team at Palesa Pads, with the aid of corporate sponsorship, have helped over 40,000 girls access affordable, eco-friendly reusable sanitary pads so they don’t have to miss a day of school while on their period.
During a recent symposium held by the South Africa Coalition on Menstrual Health Management, it was revealed that based on a sample of extremely disadvantaged schools in South Africa:
50% of girls in Grades 6-8 missed on average 5.3 days of school per month;
#ConsciousLiving: How Palesa Pads is helping SA’s girls stay in school
26.1% of girls in Grades 9-12 missed on average two days of school per month; and
17.5% of tertiary students missed classes on average two days a month, due to menstruation.
De Wet has big plans for this brand both locally and internationally. Her vision for this brand is to be the “leader of the cloth pad revolution in Africa”, with an expanding footprint on the continent in sponsorship, retail and manufacturing.
