Period Poverty
Many girls miss school simply because they cannot afford sanitary products. Each missed day widens the gap, turning a health issue into an education and equality issue.
How we will respondMalashe Foundation
Dignity is a Right, Not a Privilege.
Building Dignity.
Restoring Hope.
Empowering Communities.
Born in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, the Malashe Foundation is preparing to work alongside communities to eliminate period poverty and hygiene poverty, and to support mothers and families — because no girl should miss school because of her period, and no family should go without the basics of clean, healthy living.
Who We Are
A foundation born from
personal witness
The Malashe Foundation was established after seeing, every day, the quiet struggles of girls who miss school because of their periods, families who cannot afford basic soap, and new mothers who lack the supplies to care for their newborns. These are not isolated problems, they are connected to education, health, equality and human dignity.
The founder's name, Siqhamo, means gift or fruit in isiXhosa, and the Foundation embodies that meaning: a gift to a community that deserves more, with the hope that community empowerment will grow into lasting fruit.
Community-rooted
Transparent
Sustainable
Learn More About Us
The Challenges We Address
Understanding the need
before the solution
Period poverty, hygiene poverty and gaps in maternal care are interconnected — and all of them are inequalities we can address together.
Hygiene Poverty
The inability to afford basics like soap, toothpaste and deodorant is a silent crisis; leading to preventable illness, absenteeism and social exclusion in low-income communities.
How we will respondMaternal Health
New mothers in under-resourced communities often lack the essential supplies needed to care for themselves and their babies in the crucial first days of life.
How we will respondOur Programmes
Four programmes,
one promise of dignity
Pad for Purpose
Our flagship programme is designed to distribute free Sanitary pads to girls and women in Makhaza, alongside menstrual health education, so menstruation never becomes a barrier to education, confidence or dignity.
Explore the programmeHygiene Packs for Families
We will assemble and distribute hygiene packs: soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant; to families at dignified, community-run events, paired with practical health education.
Explore the programmeMama & Baby Kits
Kits of nappies, baby care products and maternal hygiene items for new mothers — designed to be delivered through local clinic staff and community health workers, with full dignity and confidentiality.
Explore the programmeHealth Awareness Workshops
Community workshops designed to be delivered in home languages, covering menstrual health, personal hygiene, maternal care and healthy living — to be facilitated with healthcare professionals and grounded in cultural pride.
Explore the programmeFoundation Values
Six values guide
every decision we make
Ubuntu
We are because we are together. When one person suffers, we all suffer — and when one rises, we all rise.
Dignity
We treat beneficiaries not as recipients of charity, but as rights-holders who deserve respect, care and full access.
Equity
Period poverty and hygiene poverty are not inevitable, they are inequalities we can and must address, reaching those most left behind.
Empowerment
We do not create dependency, we build capacity, equipping communities to sustain their own wellbeing.
Cultural Pride
Health education delivered in home languages, honouring the culture of communities while advancing the rights of their people.
Accountability
Every donation collected, every pack distributed and every rand spent will be documented and reported transparently.
Founder Spotlight
Rooted in lived experience
Founder and Director Siqhamo Malashe established the Foundation from within Makhaza, driven by the belief that dignity is not a privilege, it is a right. The Foundation grows from within its community, working with people rather than for them.
Under his leadership, the Foundation is being built at the intersection of health, hygiene, education and human dignity, preparing to build solutions with its people, one act of dignity at a time.
Meet the founder →Siqhamo means gift or fruit. I want this Foundation to be a gift to my community, and I want my community's response to be the fruit that grows from it.
Siqhamo MalasheFounder & Director, Malashe Foundation
Community Voices
The convictions that
guide our work
As our programme cycles complete, this space will grow with real stories from the community, shared with consent and told with dignity.
“No girl should miss a single day of school because of her period. That is not just a health problem, it is an education problem, an equality problem, and a human rights problem.”
“We do not bring solutions to our people. We build solutions with our people.”
“Every pack assembled, every mother supported, every workshop facilitated is a statement: you matter. Your health matters. Your dignity matters.”
Partners & Sponsors
Growing together, starting with our founding sponsor
Get Involved
Three ways to stand
with your community
Donate
R100 supports Sanitary pads for a girl. R250 helps assemble hygiene packs. R500 contributes towards a Mama & Baby kit. Every rand will be documented and reported.
Give with confidenceVolunteer
Join distribution events, facilitate workshops, help with photography, marketing, fundraising or admin — your time and skills build dignity.
Offer your timePartner
Businesses, schools, NGOs, clinics and government institutions — partner with us through sponsorship, product donations, skills sharing or collaborative programmes.
Partner with usDignity is a Right, Not a Privilege
Every act of dignity
creates lasting change
Join the Malashe Foundation, donate, volunteer or partner with us to help build healthier, more empowered communities across Cape Town.