Vijay Patel Seychelles Ltd supports another national initiative |14 January 2022
A souvenir photograph after the handover ceremony (Photo: Jude Morel)
After signing an agreement earlier this week to rebuild and donate a new health professional training centre to the people of Seychelles, Vijay Patel Seychelles Ltd is again taking part in another national initiative by donating sanitary towels to girls in all state and private schools who are in financial difficulty to access these products.
The handover of samples of the products to the representatives of the state and private educational institutions was held in a short ceremony yesterday morning at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (Site) at Mont Fleuri.
Medge Nancy, the head teacher of Belonie secondary school, accompanied by a female student, was the first to receive the samples on behalf of all state educational institutions and she was followed by representatives of International School Seychelles, Ecole Française and the Independent School.
Present to witness the official handover of the sanitary products were President Wavel Ramkalawan and First Lady Linda Ramkalawan, the Minister for Education, Dr Justin Valentin, MNAs including Hon. Regina Esparon who tabled the motion in the National Assembly in September last year calling on the government to make sanitary products accessible to all girls who are finding it difficult to buy these essential products due to economic difficulties aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Addressing everyone present before the handover, Vijay Patel of Vijay Patel Seychelles Ltd remarked that it is always with pleasure and pride that his company takes part in a project that will benefit the people.
He noted that the subject in question is an important one and a necessity for women and girls even though it is less talked about.
“This business of sanitary pads is an essential thing which I know about and I have been participating in it in other places and it didn’t occur to me that there is a need here so it is my pleasure that I have been given the opportunity to participate in something that is necessary and good for people,” remarked Mr Patel.
He noted that the first handover is a supply for six months. During that period the schools will have time to properly assess their individual need with regard to the number of girls who will require the products each month and make known their requirements to the company for replenishment.
Furthermore each school is free to decide how to organise and manage the distribution of these products to prevent abuse and misuse.
Hon. Regina Esparon remarked that the donation will alleviate the financial burden from many girls and their families.
She expressed heartfelt gratitude to President Ramkalawan and members of the executive who have taken the issue seriously and have heard the unified voice of Assembly members on this particular issue that affects many of our adolescent girls particularly with the pandemic where many families are facing the financial challenge to make ends meet.
“This donation will surely be of great help for the girls in need and it will guarantee that they will have the sanitary products at their disposal at school and this will enable them to remain comfortable without interrupting their studies,” Hon. Esparon highlighted.
Expressing her heartfelt gratitude to all actors who have contributed in one way or another to realise the project and Mr Patel for agreeing to be part of it, Hon. Esparon expressed the hope that in future more companies will step forward to donate to such a good cause.
For his part Minister Valentin described the initiative by Vijay Seychelles Ltd as “a new socio-economic dimension being added to quality education” in that it provides access and ensures that access to quality education remains a priority.
“The message is clear and simple: no girl will be denied access to education because of her inability to access sanitary products,” Minister Valentin stressed.
On behalf of the Ministry of Education and all the girls in the different education institutions public and private, Minister Valentin expressed his sincere gratitude to Mr Patel and his company for pushing the agenda put forward by the National Assembly and taken up by the President.
“It is for the education community a wonderful gesture,” said Minister Valentin.
Addressing those present to witness the important presentation, President Ramkalawan remarked that it was the second occasion this week that he and Mr Patel meet for the purpose of the common agenda of education. Previously it was for the signing of an agreement for Vijay to rebuild the training institution for health and social professionals which is a very important project.
“What is common in both occasions is that Mr Patel is giving of his generosity and you are showing that you care for our young people. You have also donated scholarships for Seychellois students and there is even a school on Praslin named after you and there are many other projects as far as education is concerned that we know of and will encourage,” President Ramkalawan pointed out.
He went on to express his heartfelt gratitude to Mr Patel and his company for his willingness to support the initiative and for being a valuable partner of the government.
President Ramkalawan went on to commend Hon. Esparon for tabling the motion and all members including the male MNAs who fervently supported her to preserve the dignity of our young girls.
“I followed the debate on the issue closely and members spoke in one voice to address a national issue which is to bring respect and dignity to our young girls. I want this to go further to include respect to all our children and our female population and I wish to encourage the Assembly to continue to address more such issues that concern preserving the dignity and encourage respect of our female gender,” President Ramkalawan urged.
Marie-Anne Lepathy