Engen donates R2.5m to Imbumba Foundation's Caring4Girls initiative

Imbumba Foundation CEO Richard Mabaso and Engen MD and CEO Yusa' Hassan with partners, senior managers and shareholders, sign off the Caring4Girls contract.

At the official cheque hand over, Engen MD and CEO Yusa’ Hassan stressed the value of education and how important it is to ensure that all young girls are empowered and have the opportunity to realise their full potential.

“We cannot thrive as a society if some of our female learners are left behind, which is why we are very proud to partner with the Imbumba Foundation and contribute to this very meaningful initiative,” commented Hassan.

Lack of access to adequate sanitary protection

Research by UNICEF has revealed that most poor girls, especially in the rural areas, miss up to 50 days of schooling per annum due to lack of access to adequate sanitary protection. It is against these shocking statistics that the Imbumba Foundation established Caring4Girls to achieve the following:

• Reach and support underprivileged girls with sanitary towels in South Africa.
• Create menstrual hygiene awareness through education and training.
• Establish Caring4Girls advocacy groups in schools.
• Reduce the high number of school absenteeism and drop-out occurrences caused by menstrual-related challenges.
• Complementary educational workshops on pregnancy prevention, HIV and other related diseases.

The Engen donation will touch 30 schools, a minimum of three in each of the nine provinces of South Africa, supporting 12,500 girls for a year and distributing a total 1.5-million sanitary pads. It will also be aligned to the Engen Maths & Science School programme.