A positive impact in the community

Many people ask me, “Why choose St Joseph's Primary School, why not other schools?” I always tell them that when I came to St Joseph's, even though I was different, they made feel equal. I met better friends than I ever had, great teachers and an awesome principal who genuinely cared.

The school helped me in so many ways, especially with the new language that I had to learn and new subjects. You see, my family moved to Namibia from South Africa and that meant that I had to change schools in the middle of the year. St Joseph's Primary School received me with open arms and a warm spirit. In November 2016, I was fortunate to be chosen as Miss Pre-teen Windhoek, therefore I had to do special projects. So I thought, why not use this opportunity to say thank you to my school and also to do something that I love to do. I organised a concert at my school and donated the funds to the school.

The concert was called 'Support my School'. The aim was to show my fellow students that we can all make a difference. The thing is I'm a normal girl from Rehoboth; my father is a pastor, my mother is a social worker. We are not rich, we are just a normal Rehoboth family.



Assist others

The only way we are rich is in our Lord and with the talents God has given us. So, with our influence in the community and the talents we had, we were able to raise N$6 000 to support our school and showcase the talent in Rehoboth.

My next project is to help girls that are entering puberty. This project is called 'Pushing Through Puberty'.

You must be wondering why such an awkward project. Well, puberty is awkward. As a 12-year-old girl myself, I know very well how scary and uncomfortable this time can be.

I am grateful to have parents who talk to me about it and prepare me well in advance for it. But I know that not everyone has this preparation. As a girl I understand how expensive it can be to maintain our hygiene.

I've heard children in my school being picked on by other girls because they don't smell good, but actually it is because they simply cannot afford to and it is very embarrassing to ask for help. What I would like to do is to prepare the pre-teens in our schools, especially those less privileged, and those living in hostels away from their parents. I want to give girls aged between nine and 15 a Pushing Through Puberty Pack.

This pack will consist of five sets of underwear (one for each school day), two bras, sanitary pads, pantyliners, body spray, roll-on and wet wipes.

In addition to the pack, I would also like to donate sanitary pads to the schools and hostels in Rehoboth.

Girls should not stay away from school because they are having their period.

Neither should they face embarrassment when they choose to attend school. They should not be put in uncomfortable situations because of puberty.

I cannot do this alone. But as a community we can do it and help our young girls to push through puberty.

Jathni-el Pedro