Pad for Purpose
Free Sanitary pads and menstrual health education for girls and women in Makhaza.
Goal: 250+ girls & women per cycle
Read the deep dive
Transforming Lives Through
Community-Led Programmes
Practical, sustainable solutions designed to improve health, education, dignity and wellbeing, shaped with the community of Makhaza, Khayelitsha, and built to be delivered with transparency at every step.
Our Approach
Community-led,
dignity-first
Every Malashe Foundation programme was developed after identifying specific needs in our community and after listening carefully to the local residents who live those needs every day.
We don’t simply distribute resources. We build dignity, strengthen communities, and create opportunities for lasting change.
The Malashe FoundationOur programme promise
Each programme will be implemented with three commitments at its core, so that every drive, every kit and every workshop leaves the community stronger than it found it.
Transparency
Community involvement
Long-term sustainability
At a Glance
Four programmes,
one promise of dignity
Jump straight to the programme you care about — each one is explored in depth further down this page.
Hygiene Packs for Families
Soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant, to be shared at dignified community-run events.
Goal: 100+ families per drive
Read the deep dive
Mama & Baby Kits
Essential newborn and maternal care supplies, designed for confidential delivery through local clinic staff.
Goal: 30+ new mothers per cycle
Read the deep dive
Health Awareness Workshops
Health education in home languages, facilitated alongside healthcare professionals.
Planned for every quarterly cycle
Read the deep dive
The Four Programmes
One community,
four ways we serve
Pad for Purpose
Sanitary pads — to be sourced through supplier partnerships we are building, paired with menstrual health education at every drive, and production workshops that will train community members to make pads themselves.
Go to the programmeHygiene Packs for Families
Hygiene essentials — soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant, sourced with the support of our founding sponsor, Shoprite, and future partners, to be assembled into family packs and shared at dignified, community-run events where practical health education will travel with every pack.
Go to the programmeMama & Baby Kits
Nappies, baby care products and maternal hygiene items for new mothers. Kits are designed to be delivered through local clinic staff with community health workers identifying qualifying mothers with full dignity and confidentiality.
Go to the programmeHealth Awareness Workshops
The education thread that ties everything together — menstrual health, personal hygiene, maternal care, infant care and community wellbeing, to be delivered in home languages and facilitated with healthcare professionals.
Go to the programme
Programme 01
Pad for Purpose
Overview. Our flagship programme will distribute free sanitary pads to girls and women in Makhaza, paired with menstrual health education at every drive. Pads will be sourced through supplier partnerships we are building and our sanitary pad production workshops will train community members to make pads themselves, building local skills and a sustainable, community-owned supply.
Why it matters. Many girls miss school simply because they cannot afford sanitary products. Each missed day widens the gap, turning a health issue into an education problem, an equality problem, and a human rights problem. Pad for Purpose exists so that a period never costs a girl her classroom.
Goal: 250+ girls & women per cycle
Goal: 800+ free pads per drive
Quarterly drives planned
Programme activities
Quarterly pad distribution drives
Menstrual health education sessions
Sanitary pad production workshops
Supplier partnership sourcing
Who benefits
School-going girls in Makhaza
Women who cannot afford sanitary products
Community members trained in pad production
Expected outcomes
- Improved school attendance for girls during menstruation
- Greater menstrual health awareness and less stigma
- Reduced financial burden on low-income households
- Renewed confidence and dignity for every girl and woman reached
Every drive will be documented with sign-in sheets and photographs, and outcomes
will be reported to donors and partners at the end of each quarterly cycle.
Common questions
Where do the pads come from?
Pads will be sourced through supplier partnerships we are
building ahead of our first cycle. Alongside sourcing, our sanitary pad production
workshops will train community members to make quality sanitary pads building
local skills and a longer-term, community-owned supply.
How often are distribution drives held?
Drives will run quarterly. Our goal for each cycle is to reach
250+ girls and women in Makhaza with 800+ free sanitary pads documented with
sign-in sheets and photographs and reported at the end of the cycle.
Is education part of every drive?
Yes. Every distribution will be paired with menstrual health education
delivered in home languages and linked to our Health Awareness Workshops, because
products alone don't remove stigma; knowledge and confidence do.
Programme 02
Hygiene Packs for Families
Overview. We will assemble and distribute hygiene packs — soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant, sourced with the support of our founding sponsor, Shoprite, and future partners, and shared with families at dignified, community-run events. Practical hygiene education will travel with every pack, so families gain both the products and the knowledge to stay healthy.
Why it matters. Hygiene poverty is a silent crisis. When a family cannot afford basics like soap or toothpaste, the results are preventable illness, absenteeism from school and work, and quiet social exclusion. A hygiene pack restores more than cleanliness, it restores participation, confidence and dignity.
Goal: 100+ families per drive
Goal: 100+ packs assembled
Quarterly drives planned
Programme activities
Corporate product sourcing
Volunteer pack assembly
Dignified community-run distribution events
Practical hygiene education
Who benefits
Families in Makhaza facing hygiene poverty
Children and school learners
Households under financial strain
Expected outcomes
- Healthier daily routines and stronger hygiene awareness at home
- Fewer preventable, hygiene-related illnesses and less absenteeism
- Reduced financial burden on family budgets
- Restored confidence and social inclusion for every family reached
Pack counts are recorded at assembly and at distribution, photographed, and
reported to stakeholders after each quarterly drive.
Common questions
What is inside a hygiene pack?
Each pack contains everyday essentials: soap, toothbrushes,
toothpaste and deodorant. Contents are corporate-sourced, and packs are assembled by
volunteers ahead of each quarterly drive.
How are distributions documented?
Every distribution uses sign-in sheets and pack count records,
supported by photographic evidence. Results are reported to donors, partners and the
community at the end of each programme cycle; accountability is one of our six values.
How are the distribution events run?
Events are community-run and deliberately dignified, organised
with local volunteers, so that receiving a pack feels like being part of a community
occasion, never like standing in a charity queue.
Programme 03
Mama & Baby Kits
Overview. We will provide new mothers with kits of nappies, baby care products and maternal hygiene items. The programme is designed so that local clinic staff and community health workers identify qualifying mothers, and every kit is delivered through the clinic with full dignity and confidentiality, never through public lists or queues.
Why it matters. 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. A well-timed kit eases that pressure exactly when it matters most, protecting the health of both mother and child.
Goal: 30+ new mothers per cycle
Clinic-based delivery model
Quarterly cycles planned
Programme activities
Clinic partnership & mother identification
Kit assembly, nappies, baby care, maternal hygiene
Confidential delivery through the clinic
Maternal & infant care guidance
Who benefits
New mothers identified by local clinic staff
Newborn babies
Families welcoming a child
Expected outcomes
- A healthier, better-supplied start for newborns
- Greater maternal and infant care awareness
- Reduced financial strain in the first weeks of motherhood
- Confidence and dignity in early motherhood
Deliveries will be recorded through clinic records rather than public registers,
protecting every mother's privacy while keeping our reporting fully accountable.
Common questions
Who qualifies for Mama & Baby Kits?
The programme is designed for new mothers identified by local
clinic staff and community health workers. Clinic teams know their patients and their
circumstances best, so identification will happen through them and kits will be
delivered through the clinic with full confidentiality.
What is in a kit?
Nappies, baby care products and maternal hygiene items, the
essentials a mother and newborn need in the crucial first days and weeks of life.
How is a mother's privacy protected?
Kits are handed over inside the clinic environment by health
workers the mother already knows. There are no public lists, no photographs of
recipients without consent, and no public queues; dignity and confidentiality come
first.
Programme 04
Health Awareness Workshops
Overview. Our workshops will be the education thread running through every programme covering menstrual health, personal hygiene, maternal care, infant care and community wellbeing. Sessions will be delivered in home languages and facilitated together with healthcare professionals, grounded in cultural pride rather than lecture-hall formality.
Why it matters. Products alone don't change lives, knowledge does. Health education delivered in a community's own languages honours its culture while advancing the rights of its people, replaces stigma with understanding, and builds the local capacity that makes every other programme sustainable.
Home-language delivery
Facilitated with healthcare professionals
Runs with every quarterly cycle
Programme activities
Menstrual health education
Personal & family hygiene sessions
Maternal & infant care guidance
Community wellbeing conversations
Who benefits
Girls & women at Pad for Purpose drives
Families at hygiene pack events
New mothers in Makhaza
The wider Makhaza community
Expected outcomes
- Greater health awareness and informed everyday choices
- Less stigma and more confidence to speak about menstrual and maternal health
- Reinforced school attendance and wellbeing gains from every other programme
- Stronger local capacity, communities equipped to sustain their own wellbeing
Workshops run alongside every quarterly distribution cycle, with attendance
recorded on registers and outcomes included in each cycle's stakeholder report.
Common questions
What topics do the workshops cover?
Five core areas: menstrual health, personal hygiene, maternal
care, infant care and community wellbeing, always practical, always respectful, and
always connected to the resources our other programmes provide.
Who facilitates the sessions?
Workshops are facilitated together with healthcare professionals
and delivered in home languages. Cultural pride is one of our six values, education
works best when it honours the culture of the community it serves.
Can my school, church or group request a workshop?
We'd love to hear from you. Email
info@malashefoundation.org.za or call
+27 76 384 3576 and we'll explore what's possible within
our programme cycle.
Partners & Sponsors
These programmes will be made possible together
Dignity is a Right, Not a Privilege
Together, We Can Restore Dignity
and Build Healthier Communities
Every pad, every pack, every kit and every workshop starts with someone who chose to stand with Makhaza. Donate, volunteer or partner with us and help these four programmes reach every person they promise to.