Waiting for confirmation on the teachers name, and Patty’s colleagues.
The Ogle Foundation NPC is a Roodepoort-based non-profit company run by many dedicated people, including the founder, Patty Ogle.
Over 15 years ago, Patty started the organisation by helping five men on a regular basis. These men were waste pickers who would scavenge through her dustbin weekly, and she wanted to do something for them. She started making them meals, and eventually her reaches grew beyond the five men. Today, the Ogle Foundation delivers food parcels to approximately 150 families in and around Roodepoort every Tuesday.
The good work doesn’t stop there though; one of the many initiatives the Foundation runs is a Sanitary Towel Drive. Patty and her amazing friends collect sanitary pads from generous residents and use donations to buy more until they have a huge stock. The Foundation then visits schools throughout the West Rand to donate the sanitary towels and educate the young women.
On 12 March, the Ogle Foundation made a stop at Laerskool Die Ruiter Primary, where they passed on all of the packets of pads that had been donated to them. The Foundation also educated the young women on hygiene, cleanliness, and important aspects of being a woman and respecting yourself. The teachers joined in to further speak about responsibilities that come with going through puberty, and the importance of respecting yourself and your body.
A question and answer session was held at the end of the talk, where the young women could ask their teachers or the women from the Foundation any questions they had relating to their menstrual cycle.
Feminine hygiene products are extremely expensive, and not everyone can afford this necessity. Not all of the girls knew how to use them or the important hygiene routine that comes with using them because they do not have women in their lives to ask. The female teachers reassured the learners that they are always available to answer any important questions the girls may have. The happiness and excitement in the hall were astounding as the girls raced to get their packet of pads.
For more information about the Sanitary Towel Drive and the other campaigns undertaken by this Foundation, contact Patty Ogle on 076 313 2247 or send an email to ogle.foundation.npc@gmail.com; and remember, every donation counts.
