RAK - Random Acts of Kindness - CHALLENGE

May 06, 2014 | Girls’ College

In April 2014, St Stithians Girls' College took part in RAKnominations. This initiative, which was taken on by several Johannesburg high schools, tasked the schools to take part in a Random Act of Kindness (RAK), film a video about their act, and then nominate another school to take on a project of their own. Our school took on a project called Sisters 4 Sisters which entailed the donating of sanitary products and money to buy Dignity Subz Packs for the girls at Albert Street School. This project aimed to tackle the issue of South African girls missing school days whilst menstruating due to their being unable to afford the necessary sanitary products.

The project took place over a 2 week period and by the end of the drive we had raised close to 2000 packs of sanitary pads, 5 large boxes of tampons and enough money to buy Dignity Subz packs for the Grade 7 and 8 girls at Albert Street School in the Johannesburg CBD. The Dignity Subz Packs are essentially packs of sanitary products & washable sanitary wear that will last the girls 5 years (i.e their full high school career). The bulk of these packs were donated by the Old Stithian Association through the substantial monetary donation they made to our project. The second part of the project was to provide the girls at the school with an educational lesson on the female body and personal hygiene, and this lesson was given by one of our own Life Orientation teachers (Mrs Chilvers).

The project was an undeniable success and was only possible through the support and participation of the girls, parents and staff of St Stithians Girls' College as well as the OSA. It serves as a testimony to what a difference our school makes as a 'South African school making a world of difference.'

Rufaro Sithole