“I Am Here for You,” Mandela’s Granddaughter Tells Women During Lockdown

A foundation’s plans to distribute sanitary pads in South Africa has been put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, but its founder, Ndileka Mandela, is still hard at work on social media – offering support and guidance to abused women.

The Thembekile Mandela Foundation focuses on improving education and healthcare, normally delivering 10,000 sanitary pads to rural South African girls every month, with plans to continue distribution after the pandemic.

“When I made the first delivery of pads in 2014, girls accepted them like it was a pack of gold,” says Ndileka, Nelson Mandela’s oldest grandchild. “They cried tears of relief. Can you imagine?”

Ndileka has spent her life tackling the challenges faced by South African women, namely abuse and period poverty, using her own experience of surviving rape to fight for women’s rights. While the lockdown remains enforced, Ndileka is communicating with abused women through social media, encouraging those stuck indoors with their abusers to call police hotlines for help and letting them know they are not alone.

“This pandemic is at the top of everyone’s minds so other social ills have taken a back seat” explains Ndileka. “We need to keep talking about them. We cannot lose sight.”