Namibia’s 200m running sensation and Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist, Christine Mboma has signed an agreement with the Rob Youth Foundation (RYF) to support girls who are in need of sanitary pads.
The twenty-year old Mboma who went into designing casual and sportive fashion wear, started selling the items this year under the label “Mboma Streetwear”. She has agreed that ten percent of sales via the foundation will be donated for making sanitary pads available, for free, to girls.
Announcing the agreement on 18 October 2023, the founder of RYF, Robert Maseka said the foundation will sell allocated merchandise of Mboma Streetwear of which 10 percent of the proceeds from each item sold will go to the foundation’s national sanitary pad drive to support the Namibian girl child.
In many developing countries, including Namibia, girls of school-going age often miss classes during their monthly menstruation because they cannot afford sanitary pads and thus stay at home. The government and several NGO's have in recent years raised awareness of this plight and collect funds to buy pads for free distribution among girls in need.
“Christine and I come from the same region (Kavango East) and the same village. When I approached her with the idea, she did not hesitate and was excited to assist where she can,” said Maseke. “We look forward to this partnership and we discussed more future partnerships.”
Mboma on her part said: “We believe in empowering and supporting the Namibian girl child, recognising that access to sanitary products is a fundamental right and a crucial factor in maintaining their dignity, health, and education. We hope our contribution will help make a difference and lead to better opportunities for Namibian girls.”
The Rob Youth Foundation was started in 2019 and was officially registered in April 2021. According to its founder Robert Maseka it aims to reduce the social problems faced by the Namibian youth. “We have representatives in all 14 regions and engage the youth about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy and we address lack of sanitary pads for girls,” says Maseka.
Mboma has started preparing for the 2024 Olympic Games. She and her then school mate Beatrice Masilingi caused a sensation during the 2020 Olympics.
Brigitte Weidlich