Keeping a Girl in School: a long-term initiative
Absenteeism is high among underprivileged young women who cannot afford to purchase the bare essentials, like sanitary products.
The team at Bavarian Motorcycles was deeply touched by the plight of these young women, who get bad marks or even fail as a result of missing school for weeks throughout the year.
Together with the Catholic Women's League's Lynwood branch, the Centurion dealership managed to raise enough products to keep 133 girls in school for a whole year at their 2013 fundraising/product drive event.
Dignity for girls
Half of the collected products were distributed at NPOs in Swaziland and Tzaneen as well as Bronkhorstspruit via support from the Nan Hua Temple. The remainder of the product was disseminated on 30 July to girls at the Boitshepo Catholic School in Hammanskraal. These much needed products will help keep the girls in school and assist them in having a fair chance without any unnecessary worries about being absent from school. The team decided to make use of a product called Dignity Dreams. This is packaged with durable, re-washable product (a single pack, if maintained properly, can last for two to five years).
"When we first heard about the plight of some of the young women in our country, we wanted to get involved immediately," explained Sharon Smith, Marketing Manager of Bavarian Motorcycles. "This is a long-term initiative, and we hope to keep raising funds for products - so we can do our part to keep girls in school each year."
From left to right: Zodwa Dibe, Boitshepo Catholic School; Sharon Smith, Bavarian Mototcycles and DJ Fresh, 5FM handing over one of the Dignity Dreams products at Boitshepo Catholic School in Hammanskra.
The very popular and beloved DJ Fresh joined in on the day to add to the excitement and to show his support for the initiative. Fresh met the girls from Boitshepo Catholic School and spent some time with them after the product handover.
This year's Keeping a Girl in School fundraiser will be held on 23 August 2014. With the immense success of the first event in 2013, the teams at Bavarian Motorcycles and the Catholic Women's League (Lynwood branch) are looking forward to changing the lives of even more girls this time round.
For more information: www.dignitydreams.com
