The MENstruation Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to ending period poverty and the stigma surrounding menstruation, recently launched a campus-wide initiative by installing sanitary pad dispensary machines. The initiative, which forms part of the Students on the Go programme and is funded by the Clicks Helping Hands Trust, is guided by the belief that no girl or woman should miss school, work, sport, or life opportunities because of her period. It goes beyond symbolism. It reflects a growing national movement to ensure that no student’s academic journey is disrupted by a natural biological reality.

Across South Africa, period poverty continues to block the potential of countless girls and young women at school and university, limiting their ability to learn, participate, and thrive. By placing innovative, token-operated vending machines in strategic locations, the university is providing discreet and respectful access to high-quality sanitary products. Students can now pick up these essential items when they need them most, without feeling embarrassed or stressed about the cost.

To date the NWU has received 8 dispensing machines which can be found at these locations: Vanderbijlpark Campus: Student Centre women’s bathroom, library, and ladies’ residence. Potchefstroom Campus: Lovers Lane women’s bathroom, buildings C5 and E5, and the Draak Restaurant and Mahikeng Campus: women’s bathroom at the Great Hall and the Student Counselling and Development offices.

“The impact is immediate and personal. It helps students attend more classes, reduces stress, and reassures them that the university understands and supports the realities of student life,” said Silvanus Welcome, director for development and fundraising.

Free tokens can be collected from the Student Counselling and Development offices on each campus.

Mahikeng Campus: Building B6 / Health Care Centre Building • General enquiries phone: +27 (0)18 389 2592

Potchefstroom Campus: Building F18 (SCD) • There is also Thuso1777/support services in Building E14 on campus. • General enquiries phone: +27 (0)18 299 2893

Vanderbijlpark Campus: Building 13, Split-level 3, Office 331 • General enquiries phone: +27 (0)16 910 3195