Mina touches the lives of young girls on our continent and beyond, by enhancing the quality of their lives, and keeping them in school for their whole school career.
Uplifting WOMANITY!
Women are recognized as strategicplayers in the transformation of South Africa and the rest of the world. They are seen as the pillars,the cornerstones of communities, families and society. Yet despite this accolade, too many women globally are faced with adversity that in this day and age, is unacceptable.
Founding member Zaakira Mahomed has always dreamed of creating a space where people can find a way of easilyspreading cheer and love. And it is forthis reason that HappyWith A Purpose NPO was formed with co-founders Dr Mashadi Motlana and Ms Lerato Ndoro.
Our logo depicts uplifting hands releasing butterflies which symbolises freedom and empowerment. One flutterof a butterfly’s wing can create massive change at a later time. Being part of Happy With A Purpose is that flutter. By being part ofthis initiative we are enabling a change, creating a ripple effect that can reach far beyond our comprehension.
Research shows that 60% of SouthAfrican women are missing out on education and work during their menstruationcycle. They are unable to continue with their daily routines because they donot have access to sufficient sanitary ware and they cannot take the risk ofgoing to school or work and dealing with the embarrassment and discomfort. Inthis contemporary society, these kinds of challenges are deplorable.
If we scrutinize that young girlsare missing school because of menstruation, we start to see the harshness oftheir reality. It means that they are missing 5 days a month. 50 days ayear. That’s 250 days in their entirehigh school career. That is a whole year of education that they are missing.
The problem is so deep and so wide.It is not enough to just distribute sanitary ware to these women and expectthat to fill the void. Often these women don’t have access to getting rid oftheir waste in an appropriate manner and face many other hardships.
That is why we have come up with the1 Million Women MinaCup Challenge. We are not only raising funds to buyand distribute Mina, we also educate communities about feminine hygiene and other female related issues.
The 1 Million Women MinaCup Challenge is about empowering women through their bodies and through education. Through this platform we can enable women to have alternative options. They can change their stories and re-write their destiny.
To date we have distributed over 10 000 MinaCups to rural communities across South Africa where we are proud to say that approximately 90% of the girls are friends of Mina.
We aim to raise ONE MILLION MinaCups to distribute to girls and women in need across South Africa and beyond.
ZAAKIRA MAHOMED
Business woman, entrepreneur, Founding member of HAPPY WITH A PURPOSE and MINA menstrual cups. In 2013, she was one of 300 women, chosen from thousands of applicants to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10 000 Women Empowerment Programme at the prestigious Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), in Johannesburg South Africa.
Zaakira was also awarded the “WOMAN IN BUSINESS 2014/2015” award by the South African Turkish Business Association of South Africa (SATBA), for her efforts to uplift communities.
DR MASHADI MOTLANA
Dr Motlana resigned as Head of Clinical Services at Tara Hospital in September 2013 to pursue a career in business where she combines her unique skill set as a clinician and her entrepreneurial interests to innovate and impact on the health of the South African population particularly in the corporate sector.
She is a founding director of the Dr Nthato Motlana Foundation, a PBO that is focused on 4 areas; Leadership, Education, Entrepreneurship and Health.
LERATO NDORO
Lerato Ndoro has worked for a number of global and local companies, providing Strategic HR and talent management support at executive and senior management levels. She has more than 15 years experience as an HR generalists and HR specialist, with experience in managing business projects and commercial operations management .She is extremely passionate about womens’ issues, especially those that involve children who face challenges in underdeveloped Africa. Lerato is involved in charities that address children’s issues.