A man from Stellenbosch in the Western Cape is determined to change the stigma of shame for those in need of sanitary pads and ran from home to Robertson at the weekend to raise funds and awareness. 

Keith Present, 33, is an active person and an avid runner, but at the weekend took on the grueling journey of running a 129 km distance (by vehicle) to raise funds for sanitary pads for young girls. 

He has been involved in sanitary towel drives and collecting them for various primary and high schools in the area. 

Speaking to IOL, Present said the idea just came to him last year, and being a dedicated runner, he started prepping by running 10 km a day for 10 days. 

“I wanted to take the initiative further and go bigger. When I told people I wanted to run from Stellenbosch to Robertson, they thought it was a joke,” he said. 

Present and his cousin Marlon started the trek together. 

“We did it over two days. My cousin Marlon Present and I ran from Stellenbosch to Worcester. We ran 40kms and spent about five to six hours on the road. However, as we were about to leave Worcester, my cousin sustained an injury. I told him to turn around rather, and we called a relative to come fetch him,” Present explained. 

He then had to complete the rest of the journey by himself. The distance from Worcester to Robertson is 47.8km when travelling in a vehicle. 

“As I was running, I did have challenges. The most challenging thing for me was when I got to a point near Robertson where one can see a steep hill snaking. I saw this major hill and started crying. But I said I cannot turn around now. I got my head back in the game, put my emotions aside. With my cousin, we encouraged each other, but now I was alone and had to make sure I got it,” Present said.  

He said, surprisingly, usually one’s body would want to shut down, but he was fine and was still walking around normally after he completed his goal. 

“What I’ve learnt is that if you have the right running shoes, and you’re mentally and physically fit it will be possible. It was tough, but I made it. Like they say, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel,” Present said. 

The avid runner said he has only ever run alone and has never participated in any competitions or marathons. 

He said they have received an influx of donations of sanitary pads and some money to purchase sanitary pads. 

“People gave [monetary] donations, to which I purchased the items; others gave sanitary pads, and many made use of the drop-off sites we have. We want to cover all of Stellenbosch, Cloetesville, and the surrounding areas. We are still in the process of counting how many sanitary pad packs we managed to collect, but we should be distributing this to 50 schools,” Present said. 

He said he will be continuing with this sanitary pad drive. 

“We are going to continue this. People can still donate, we are also willing to collect. We want to bring awareness. A young woman should not be ashamed to ask for help. We want to cut out the shame for those not able to afford sanitary pads. We want to become a safe hub. We want young girls to be able to ask and we will deliver it discreetly. We are trying to change the stigma and this is only the starting point,” Present said. 

For any donations, contact Keith Present at 065 124 0377.

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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