More than 300 school going girls in Nkayi and Lupane districts of Matabeleland North are attending school lessons without any under wear, ZimEye.com has learnt.
In a shocking revelation during the Matabeleland North SNV partnered schools Carnival, the girls who range from 8 to 16 years have been attending school classes without panties, exposing them to infections and abuse.
In an interview with SNV’s spokesperson for the Carnival, who is also the Wash Advisor for the organisation Wamubhilani Nkala, the organisation has been working around the clock to assist the vulnerable girl children in the districts, with sanitary wear and panties.
“We have been working hard since 2013 in the most affected areas of the country, which is Matabeleland North. We discovered that more than 300 girls from Nkayi district have been dropping out of school due to menstrual difficulties. They have been going to school without panties, as they all could not afford to have them.
SNV and its European partner have since established a mothers group composed of women in the surrounding districts to manufacture under wear and ramps for the vulnerable girls.
One of the trained mothers from the Masenyane mothers Group of Lupane, Mrs Sandra Mpofu, told ZimEye.com that they have been busy with the venture since 2013, as the situation needs urgent attention.
“Our girls have been going through a traumatising experience, and most of them have been keeping the secret to themselves, as they fear humiliation.
Many girls would have been noticed after having spoiled their school uniforms, thereby leading to the intervention of female teachers,” she said.
According to SNV Official, Mrs Sphilisiwe Dube, more than 70 school teachers have since been trained to offer lectures on ramp making during their home economic classes, in an effort to cushion the vulnerable girls.