Anelisiwe Valuvalu has become an ambassador for Leafline, an innovative, reusable sanitary towel made from pineapple leaf fibres. The product has been championed by SPAR Eastern Cape, as part of their #EndPeriodPoverty campaign.

Anelisiwe was in Grade 11 at Kuyasa Combined School when a field trip to Port Alfred High School exposed her to the reusable sanitary towels being made from pineapple leaf fibres in the nearby town of Bathurst.

After the presentation she approached Candy Androliakos, the brainchild behind the product, and told her that it could be life-changing for the girls in Nemato Location, where she lived, and beyond.

Valuvalu, who is now pursuing a degree in foundational-phase education at Fort Hare, recalls the businesswoman handing her samples to distribute among her peers.

“I immediately knew it was an incredible product. I thought, ‘This needs to be known because it’s a game-changer’.

“You can’t always afford normal sanitary towels, so to be able to reuse them makes such a difference,” Valuvalu, who grew up in a household where both parents were unemployed, said.

The youngster, who herself suffered the consequences of her period arriving without warning during the June exams of that year, knows all too well about the difficulties faced by female learners.

Witnessing the product’s value in her community inspired her to continue spreading the word and today the 19-year-old is an ambassador for Leafline.

Next, she wants to host an event on campus to introduce her fellow students to it.

“When you find something that has been helpful to you, and realise you are not the only one in this situation, you have to reach out to others,” Valuvalu, who considers it her “backbone” when turning out for the university’s Baby Blues rugby team, said.

“I am not going to stop. This experience has helped me grow. It’s about helping others, not just looking after myself.”

The relationship ties in with its Petals campaign, through which the retailer has inspired its shoppers to donate more than 14 million packs of feminine hygiene products to NGOs in the country and abroad since 2019.

Androliakos – credited as the first person in the world to use the absorbent pineapple leaf fibres for the manufacturing of soft, breathable, durable and washable fabric – will never forget the learner running after her and insisting that her product be promoted in the township.

“Since then she has taken it upon herself to get involved with our projects. She’s really good at what she does and passionate about the cause.”

About seven million South African women are impacted and one in three learners miss up to five days of school every month due to their inability to purchase menstrual products.

Pictured: XJ Mayana, the former principal of Kuyasa Combined School, has always been a big supporter of Anelisiwe Valuvalu’s work as a Leafline ambassador.