An auction at Societi Bistro held on Saturday April 25 raised R44 000 for two charity organisations – One to One Africa and the I am for Her Foundation.
Guests to the event, which was also a launch party for Societi Bistro’s new winter menu, clamoured to outbid each other for wines, lunches, dinners and experiences, among other things, at the auction facilitated by writer and comedian Paul Snodgrass.
One to One Africa helps people in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape access health services by training women who live there to be community health care workers; and the I am for Her Foundation aims to provide education about menstruation and sexual health, as well as to provide free access to sanitary pads.
Societi Bistro owner Peter Weetman said he had partnered with the organisations about six months ago, and felt like both organisations were making a real impact. “It was an honour to pair up with them. Both causes are close to my heart. I was raised by a single mom because my dad was absent – so anything to empower women is important.”
Natalie Jardine, brand ambassador for the I am for Her Foundation said around 2.1 million girls miss up to 60 days of school because they don’t have sanitary pads. “We work hard to make sure all the girls have access to sanitary pads.”
She said the foundation will be going to KwaZulu-Natal to provide sanitary pads to victims of the flood, and their ultimate aim is to make sure that every school in South Africa has access to sanitary pads.
She said the next project will be at Garden’s Commercial High School in the CBD, where they will install a free sanitary pad dispenser.
One to One Africa board member Kirsty Evans said the organisation was focusing on trying to improve health care in last mile communities, especially in the Eastern Cape, where resources are almost impossible to access.
She said women within the communities are trained as “mentor mothers” and offer day-to-day advice and community health care to those in need.
The funds will go towards a mobile clinic, which will help them reach more people in a shorter space of time, she said, and provide services such as an on-board nurse, vaccination facilities and health checks.