MELODY MUPETA, Kitwe
WHILE it is uncommon to see men championing the end to period poverty, with some men finding it ‘embarrassing’ to buy sanitary wear, Weluzani Banda, 30, feels that men too can promote menstrual hygiene.
Mr Banda picks plastic bottles and sells them to raise money to buy sanitary pads, which he distributes to girls in school as a way of enhancing their access to education.
His drive to ending period poverty started in 2020 after his house help narrated a story of how a girl in her area was forced to miss classes because she was on her menses.
Mr Banda says he felt touched by the story because it never occurred to him that there are girls who miss classes when they are on their monthly period.
He said when he was told that story, he bought pads and gave his house help to deliver to the girl.
“After that, I noticed that buying her the pads for a month was not going to solve the problem permanently because it is not sustainable,” Mr Banda said.
He then opted to visit the girl’s school and had an interaction with the CLICK TO READ MORE