The Malashe Foundation was created to address the everyday challenges faced by girls, women, families and new mothers in underserved communities; through sustainable, community-driven solutions that build lasting dignity from within.
Our Story
The Malashe Foundation began with personal witness. In Makhaza, Khayelitsha, our founder watched girls stay home from school because they could not afford sanitary products, families make impossible choices because basic soap had become a luxury, and new mothers leave the clinic without the essential supplies their babies needed.
These are not separate problems. Period poverty, hygiene poverty and gaps in maternal care are interconnected, woven into education, health, equality and human dignity. So in 2026 the Foundation was created to answer them together, through sustainable, community-driven solutions rather than once-off handouts.
The name carries the promise. Siqhamo means gift or fruit in isiXhosa, and the Foundation is built to embody both: a gift offered to a community that deserves more, and the fruit that grows when that community is empowered to thrive.
Siqhamo means gift or fruit. I want this Foundation to be a gift to my community and I want my community's response to be the fruit that grows from it. Siqhamo Malashe — Founder & DirectorSee How We Respond
Founder Spotlight
Founder and Director Siqhamo Malashe established the Foundation in 2026 from within Makhaza, Khayelitsha, the community he calls home. The challenges the Foundation confronts are not abstractions to him; they are the daily realities of neighbours, classmates and family. That lived experience shapes everything the organisation does.
His leadership philosophy is simple and non-negotiable: work with communities, not for them. The Foundation does not arrive with ready-made answers, it is designed to build capacity rather than dependency: to train community members, to work through local community networks and clinic staff, and to shape every programme so the community can carry it forward.
Looking ahead, his focus is on growing the Foundation's impact responsibly — building partnerships, delivering each planned quarterly programme cycle with care, and expanding across Cape Town one act of dignity at a time.
No girl should miss a single day of school because of her period. That is not just a health problem, it is an education problem, an equality problem, and a human rights problem.
Siqhamo MalasheFounder & Director, Malashe Foundation
Vision & Mission
A South Africa where every girl, woman and family, regardless of where they live or how much they earn, has access to the health, hygiene and dignity they deserve.
A future where no girl misses a single day of school because of her period, and no family goes without the basics of clean and healthy living.
To eliminate period poverty and hygiene poverty in underserved communities by providing free, sustainable hygiene resources, facilitating culturally grounded health education, and supporting mothers and families with the tools they need to thrive.
We work with communities, not just for them, to build lasting dignity from within.
Core Values
These six commitments come directly from our Foundation profile. They shape how we design programmes, how we spend every rand, and how we show up in our community.
We are because we are together. When one member of our community suffers, we all suffer, and when one rises, we all rise. Ubuntu shapes every programme we design: nothing for the community happens without the community.
The people we serve are rights-holders, not recipients of charity. Every distribution, kit and workshop is designed to protect privacy, respect choice and affirm self-worth because dignity is a right, not a privilege.
Period poverty and hygiene poverty are not inevitable, they are inequalities that can and must be addressed. We deliberately direct our resources to those most left behind, so access to health and hygiene no longer depends on postcode or income.
We build capacity, not dependency. From production workshops designed to train community members to make Sanitary pads, to community-run distribution events, our programmes are built to equip people to sustain their own wellbeing long after a drive ends.
Health education lands best in the language of home. Our workshops will be delivered in home languages, honouring the culture of our communities while advancing the health and rights of their people.
Every donation collected, every pack distributed and every rand spent will be documented and reported. Attendance registers, count records and photographs will back up what we say — and outcomes will be shared with stakeholders after every cycle.
Our Focus Areas
The challenges we saw are interconnected, so our response is too. Each focus area will be delivered through a dedicated programme with clear, per-cycle commitments.
Free Sanitary pads and menstrual health education for girls and women, because no one should have to choose between her dignity and her education.
Pad for Purpose
Hygiene packs — soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant, designed to be distributed at dignified, community-run events, alongside practical health education for the whole family.
Hygiene Packs for Families
Mama & Baby Kits of nappies, baby care products and maternal hygiene items, designed to be delivered through local clinic staff, with full dignity and confidentiality.
Mama & Baby KitsGovernance & Accountability
We keep our structure lean and our standards rigorous — a small leadership team with clear responsibilities, and a commitment to documentation at every step of every cycle.
Siqhamo Malashe
Sets the Foundation's direction and carries overall responsibility for its work — from programme design to the partnerships and relationships that will make each cycle possible.
How We Will Stay Accountable
Trust is earned with evidence. Every programme cycle will follow the same four-step accountability trail — so donors, partners and the community will be able to verify exactly what was promised and what was delivered.
Signed registers at every distribution event will record exactly who was reached.
Every pad, pack and kit assembled and handed over will be counted and logged.
Events will be documented in photographs — always taken with consent and dignity.
At the end of each programme cycle, outcomes will be reported to donors, partners and community stakeholders.
Want the full picture? Download the Foundation Profile (PDF) — our vision, mission, programmes, governance and accountability commitments in a single document.
Foundation Timeline
The Malashe Foundation launched in 2026, which means our journey is just beginning. The milestones below are a mix of what is already true and what we have committed to deliver next, clearly marked, never inflated.
We publish our figures as per-cycle commitments, not historical totals. As each cycle completes, this timeline and our impact reporting will grow with verified results.
See Our Impact CommitmentsSiqhamo Malashe founds the Malashe Foundation in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, with one conviction: dignity is a right, not a privilege.
Free Sanitary pads and menstrual health education, with pads sourced through supplier partnerships we are building.
Goal: our first cycle aims to reach 250+ girls and women with 100+ free sanitary pads — and every distribution will be documented with attendance registers and photographs.
Goal: hygiene packs for 800+ families per drive, and kits for 30+ new mothers per cycle, designed to be delivered through local clinic staff with full dignity and confidentiality.
Building partnerships and growing our impact, one community, one act of dignity at a time.
Dignity is a Right, Not a Privilege
Our story is only beginning, and you can help write its next chapter. Donate, volunteer or partner with us to bring dignified health and hygiene to every girl, woman and family in Makhaza and beyond.