Social enterprise launches pad-manufacturing facility in Gugulethu
|Published
Cape Town - A social enterprise organisation dedicated to tackling period poverty across the country is making inroads in its service delivery quest.
Blossom Care Solutions, which also champions female entrepreneurship, recently announced the launch of its new sanitary pad production facility in the Gugulethu-Manenberg area in Cape Town.
According to the enterprise, the launch of the facility was made possible through its partnership with a sneaker brand and Safe-Hub, which both shared its purpose to empower disadvantaged communities, create jobs and alleviate period poverty.
Blossom Care Solutions managing director Shamiela Sarlie said the organisation was thrilled to launch the Blossom Gugulethu facility.
She added: “In South Africa, a staggering 83% of young girls and women lack access to essential menstrual hygiene products. This statistic underscores the widespread issue of period poverty, which has a particularly significant impact on girls and women in township and rural areas.”
Sarlie said: “Safe-Hub’s dedication to improving young people’s access to opportunity and services in disadvantaged areas, coupled with Blossom’s vision to establish small black-owned, women-led businesses under a social franchise model that create jobs for young women.”
Safe-Hub national operations manager Sipho Mgoboz said Blossom Care Solutions shared Safe-Hub’s commitment to female empowerment, job creation, and addressing the issue of period poverty.
“This facility is now becoming an integral part of the Safe-Hub ecosystem with its holistic approach to youth and community development,” she said.
adidas South Africa senior brand director Kate Woods said: “Right from the beginning, we were inspired by Blossom Care’s women-centred approach to addressing period poverty in the heart of communities that need it most.
“We have seen how a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products affects school attendance but also, how it has an impact on participation in sport, which ultimately affects both the physical and mental well-being of young girls. This facility will keep girls in school and allow them to continue playing their favourite sports. It will change so many lives,” Woods said.
