A new initiative launched by Stellenbosch University’s (SU) psychology department is aimed at encouraging students to become engaged citizens. The first project of the #KrotoaCares initiative, which was launched in February, is a sanitary station on the first floor of SU’s Krotoa Building. The second, which launched in March, is a library.
This is according to SU psychology lecturer, doctor Rizwana Roomaney, who explained that the department’s aim with their initiative is to care for the sanitary, book and food needs of students, staff and visitors to SU’s Krotoa Building.
A need for sanitary products
“We have been alerted to what students and people within our environment need,” stated Roomaney. The station accepts the donation of sanitary products like tampons, deodorant, and toothpaste, explained Roomaney. “We also know that there are a lot of people who have [access to sanitary products] on campus and can give.”
The location of the station, as well as the give-and-take basis on which it operates, makes it both accessible and sustainable, explained Roomaney.
The placement of both the station and the library on the quieter first floor was strategic, according to Roomaney, who stated that people might have been discouraged from taking products due to feelings of “shame and stigma” had it been on the busier ground floor.
The library operates on an honour system where it is trusted that those who take books will return them, according to Roomaney. The donation of any kind of book is encouraged, not just textbooks, she added.
Other SU initiatives
#KrotoaCares is not the first initiative of this kind on SU’s campus, according to SU spokesperson Martin Viljoen. “Over the years there were [SU] projects to raise funds for sanitary products,” stated Viljoen.
SU female residence Irene has had similar ongoing initiatives. They hosted an event on 30 August 2021 where attendees were given a free menstrual cup and encouraged to donate pads. This is according to their Facebook page.
“While pad drives for external communities around Stellenbosch are all fantastic initiatives, we already have a lot of need in our own house. So, we tend to focus our energy more internally so that other Ireners don’t go forgotten,” stated Pauli Brown, Irene primaria.
SU’s Eendrag Men’s Residence has, through their “care fund”, provided sanitary pads to the female residences within their residence cluster over the years. This is according to their primarius, Eduan Beukman.
Unlike other initiatives, #KrotoaCares serves not only students but “anyone in the vicinity [of the Krotoa Building]”, explained Roomaney.
“I was not aware that there was anything like that,” said SU student Megan Wyeth who attends classes in the Krotoa Building. “But that sounds great and I would definitely use it and donate to it as well. I think it’s very important to have something like that on campus,” said Wyeth.
In April, as part of #KrotoaCares, the psychology department will start a pantry containing non-perishable goods, said Roomaney.