The financial challenges associated with menstrual hygiene management hit her hard as she had just left her job and was doing consultancy work from home.
“The amount of money I spent on sanitary wear was just too much and one day as I was shopping, it just crossed my mind what a rural girl who could be going through my predicament would do in the event that something like this happened to her,” said Moyo.
She said it was this moment that was the turning point in her life and motivated her to change the lives of those less privileged.
“I bought my packets of sanitary wear and I included one for the under-privileged and I made a commitment that for every packet that I buy for myself, I would buy another one and donate to the needy,” said Moyo.
Miracle
To ensure that her vision materialised, Moyo decided to pray about it. “When I told my mother that I wanted to set up a charity organisation to mobilise for sanitary wear for rural girls and marginalised girls in urban communities, we prayed about it as a family. It was during the prayer that I felt the flow of my menstruation subside,” said Moyo.
She said she did not believe it at first and she thought it was her imagination. But it proved to be true when she woke up the next morning and her eight-month ordeal had stopped.
“When I went back to the doctor for my regular check- up, he could not believe that the menstruation had stopped,” said Moyo, adding that she believed her experiences was a reflection of the power of God.
“Had I not gone through that experience, I do not think I would have imagined myself devoting my life to such a cause – because this is something that the majority of us take for granted.”
Moyo went ahead with her plan and set up a trust called Girls R Us, an organisation that helps girls in dealing with their menstruation cycles.
The organisation, run by four trustees and a board of directors operates on a voluntary basis with most of the volunteers being young people in tertiary institutions.
Voluntary
“Young women and girls in tertiary institutions have come on board for this worthy cause to the extent that sometimes we are overwhelmed with the high turnout whenever we are conducting any activities – whether they are in urban areas or in the rural areas,” said Moyo.
Her organisation does not limit itself to the provision of sanitary wear. “Discussing menstruation issues is considered taboo in most of our communities. This organisation seeks to fill the gap. We have also gone a step further and become a source of information for the girls when it comes to menstrual hygiene and management,” said Moyo.
Girls R Us holds community dialogue meetings with girls, boys, parents and communities under the topic dubbed ‘Time with Tete’ and the organisation provides a platform where all questions regarding menstruation are addressed.
“We engage communities depending on the topic to be discussed. There are times when we talk to the girls only and the boys separately. We do this because there are certain issues that we know that the girls are not comfortable discussing around boys and we want an environment where girls are able to discuss anything and have their questions answered,” she said.
Confident
Moyo envisions a society where the girl child is confident of herself regardless of whether she is experiencing her menstrual cycle or not.
“My dream is for a Zimbabwe where girls are super confident of themselves even when they are ‘on’ to the extent that they do not skip school three or four days every month because of menstruation,” said Moyo.
Her organisation last month donated over 300 packets of sanitary pads and 96 bars of soap to girls in Chihota, Mashonaland East province and to Marondera Secondary School. Their efforts to mobilise for more continue.
“Since we started on this project, we have donated to girls in Honde Valley. Through Revelation Trust, an orphanage in Harare’s Kuwadzana suburb, we donated nine packets of sanitary pads to over 50 girls,” said Moyo.
She called on the corporate sector to contribute towards this worthy cause. “We should be motivated to change the lives of those less privileged than us and ensure that we strive to make sure those who use rags get to use healthier, safer and more modern means during their menstruation,” she said.
Post published in: News