Employees at BASF, one of the world’s leading chemical companies, are strongly supported by the company’s ethos of giving back to the community. Employee volunteering, coupled with BASF South Africa’s corporate social responsibility programme, is an integral component of BASF operations throughout South Africa.
In celebration of National Women’s Day, BASF employees at different sites have been collecting sanitary pads for school girls during the month of August. The endeavour came up after established research showed that:
- a large numbers of African girls drop out of school due to a lack of access to sanitary pads
- in a country where providing food is the highest priority, sanitary pads are seen as a luxury
- without hygiene supplies, girls stop going to school during their period and eventually fall behind and drop out
- girls also end up using materials that can be unsanitary which could negatively impact their health.
Giving back to the community
An established NPO, Imbumba Foundation’s Caring 4Girls Programme has been identified as the beneficiary of the donation. The programme distributes sanitary towels to help keep young girls in school during their monthly cycles. It also focusses on creating awareness about puberty and demystifying menstrual-related myths, thus ensuring further education for girls which in turn raises their self-esteem and restores their dignity.
BASF has also agreed to match the employee efforts with a cash donation. This will assist the foundation to supply pads and puberty education to girls throughout the country.
‘Giving back is one of the fundamental responsibilities of all corporate citizens. Contributions to support the community in which we do business do not only have to be of a monetary nature, but can include social awareness and upliftment programmes that all staff can get involved in at any level,’ says Joan Maria Garcia Girona, BASF’s country cluster head for southern Africa.
