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Leo Club members and Shamwari Yemwanasikana pose for a photograph soon after the ceremony

Lovemore Meya Cool Lifestyle Correspondent
Leo Club members at Watershed College in Marondera extended a hand to vulnerable girls in Mtoko and Mudzi by donating sanitary wear worth more than $300 that was handed to Shamwari Yemwanasikana at the institution. The donation will be handed over to the beneficiaries on October 11 during

the International Day of the Girl Child.

In an interview during the handover ceremony, Leo Club president, Leo Panashe Marasiro (18) said the donation came about as one of their prerogative duty. “We received a word from Shamwari Yemwanasikana that they needed help in terms of sanitary wear for the less privileged girls in the rural areas,” said Leo Marasiro.

“This was agreed upon by members of the club to gather sanitary to give out after realising that we are working for the same cause. We went to our hostels asking people whether individually if they had something to donate.

“As Leo Club we raised some funds to buy other things they need since we wanted them to feel special. It is not only sanitary pads we donated, but went an extra mile by adding soap, deodorants, toothpaste and toothbrush since they are also part of the sanitary wear.”

The donation came after Nyasha Mhonda president for the National Girls Jury who is also a member of Shamwari Yemwanasikana chronicled the problems the girls in rural areas are facing during the menstruation period.

“The girls in rural communities are less privileged that at times they use cow dung during the menstrual period and we at Shamwari Yemwanasikana took the task upon ourselves to help them. We also saw it fit to uphold the rights of a girl-child thus coming with different programmes to help them.

“We are also very thankful for the good gesture you have shown to us and it will go a long way in alleviating problems faced by girls in the rural areas,” she said. Leo Nyasha Mhonda (19) said Shamwari Yemwanasikana was doing a sterling job and at their school they were very much enlightened to learn about the organisation.

“We never knew of this programme and as boys we came to realise the importance of girls’ rights and that they must be upheld by everyone. We have to think deeply what really a girl is all about, the challenges they go through especially during the menstrual period.

“It is very expensive to bring up a girl child unlike a boy child because if we look at what they need in terms of health wise, they need a lot,” he said. “We have embarked on numerous projects since the inception of our club in 2012 including fundraising like car washes, colour splashes and food sells by inviting other schools. We have used the funds to help several schools and children’s homes,” said Leo Audrey Muindisi (18).