Article by Phenyo Mokgothu and Mafumane Tlhapi
The North-West University (NWU) GoAllOut organisation’s student chapter will attempt a Guinness World Record for the longest line of sanitary pads, spanning a distance of 4 km to 6 km.
The attempt will take place on 25 March at the Great Hall on the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus, and will see students taking part in making a line spanning up to 6 km with 60 000 sanitary pads.
Melokuhle Magagula, chairperson of the student chapter, says they have so far collected more than 100 000 single sanitary pads to attempt the world record, and that they are expecting 400 volunteers to help them achieve this goal.
“This is a first of its kind in South Africa. Other institutions that succeeded in this attempt were Aston University in the United Kingdom in 2020 and the Professional University in India in 2022.
“After the event, we will donate the sanitary pads to those in need, as we want to promote female hygiene and take a stand against period poverty,” adds Melokuhle.
“A petition has also been launched to encourage the government to legislate the issuing of free sanitary pads to girls in schools.”
Various schools in and around Mahikeng will be attending the event and are expected to be among the beneficiaries of the sanitary products. These schools include the International School of South Africa, Letsatsing Science Secondary School, Batswana Commercial Secondary School, Sol Plaatje Secondary School, Mahikeng Secondary School and Golfview Secondary School.
Other participating stakeholders include the Mahikeng Mall, The Crossing Shopping Centre, Bidvest Steiner South Africa, the office of the Mahikeng executive mayor cllr Tshepiso Mphehlo, and various government departments.
More about the GoAllOut organisation student chapter
This chapter is a student society which functions under the Student Campus Council of the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus.
It was established to address socio-economic issues that individuals face in communities across South Africa.
The GoAllOut student chapter has been on a mission to collect sanitary towels since 2022
