Seithati Motsoeneng
Her Majesty Queen ‘Masenate Mohato Seeiso’s poverty alleviation and girl-child upliftment charity organisation, Hlokomela Banana Foundation, yesterday received a generous donation of 515 boxes of sanitary towels from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The boxes containing 2000 packs of sanitary towels were handed over to Her Majesty at the Royal Palace in Maseru.
Expressing her gratitude for the donation, Her Majesty said the partnership between Hlokomela Banana and UNICEF was a step in the right direction as its aim is to protect children’s wellbeing, including the girl child.
“Menstruation should be seen for what it is, which is a common humanitarian cycle for all women and girls. Regrettably, many of Lesotho’s young girls and women still go through period poverty due to lack of resources,” Her Majesty said.
Queen ‘Masenate added that the Hlokomela Banana Foundation believed in partnering with the private sector and individual organizations and individual Basotho alike, to remove the stigmatization of menstruation, and curb period poverty.
“We therefore applaud UNICEF for their sizeable donation and the impact it will make in menstrual hygiene which is a step further to Lesotho eradicating period poverty,” Queen ‘Masenate said.
UNICEF Country Director, Deepak Bhaskaran, on his part, said the donation followed a pledge the organisation made in May this year.
“It is such a pleasure for us today to honour our pledge and handover this consignment to Her Majesty as our contribution to promoting menstrual hygiene,” Mr Bhaskaran said.
He also said menstrual hygiene was not a matter of comfort but a fundamental human right.
Mr Bhaskaran also said they hoped their donation would make a significant difference in adolescent girls’ lives and give them more confidence in life.