By Decide Nhendo
Masvingo Urban Women in Progress Community Group (UWPCG), a savings club, recently donated sanitary wear to Mucheke High School and the group intends to extend the donations to other local schools from the money they get from their cooperative.
UWPCG chairperson Regina Chabhanga said they were helping girls to inspire them to do the same when they grow up.
“We are helping girls because we want to make them learn to help others from what we are doing. We encourage guardians to make sure they help the girl child because she represents motherhood,” said Chabhanga.
One of UWPCG members Rebecca Magomo said they chose Mucheke High because that’s where most of the group members learnt and the gesture was a payback to the school.
“We chose to start by donating sanitary wear to Mucheke High because most of us did our secondary education here, so it is a way of paying back to the school and community,” said Magomo.
Magomo said they bought 110 packs of sanitary wear that will be distributed at the school to ease period poverty which at times affects their learning.
“We have handed over 110 packs of 10 to Mucheke learners because we thought as mothers that we need to help the girl child,” said Magomo.
She said the group was hoping to help young ladies who are victims of unwanted pregnancies and are sent away by parents from their homes, which was a common feature within communities, but financial constraints were still holding them back.
“We have plans to help young ladies who get unwanted pregnancies with necessities since most of them are being sent away by their parents who will not want to look after their children, however, our main challenge is lack of resources,” said Magomo.
UWPCG started in 2019 as a savings club and they contributed money which will then be lent out to members who would return it with interest. They would buy furniture among other things before they ventured into helping others.