My name is Melissa Zackon, and I am a co-founder of MamaFlo, a non-profit organisation that began with a moment of personal revelation and has since grown into a powerful movement for social change. On Youth Day 2020, alongside two of my friends, now co-founders, a seemingly simple act of distributing sanitary pads in Khayelitsha became the catalyst for everything.

We listened to the stories of over 600 women and girls and quickly realised that period poverty was not an abstract issue but a harsh reality preventing dignity and opportunity.

That day, Mama Flo was born out of a heartfelt commitment to act and to make a tangible, lasting difference in the world.
At its core, Mama Flo is dedicated to the principle that no person should be left behind because of her period.

We are committed to providing short and long-term sustainable solutions to period poverty. The goal is to not only provide access to free period products but also to educate people on menstruation and break the stigma around it. We do this through workshops in schools and community groups, and, most importantly, by empowering local leaders through our Ambassador Programme. This community-led approach is critical to our mission; it’s not about us having all the answers but about listening, learning, and co-creating solutions alongside the very people we serve, providing them with agency and choice.

This strategy has allowed us to achieve remarkable impact: we have reached more than 8,000 women, distributed over 800 sets of long-lasting reusable pads, and hosted over 35 workshops that break down stigma and build confidence.

I believe my nomination for the Jewish Achiever Awards is a testament to the core Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, the profound responsibility we all share to repair the world. Mama Flo embodies this principle by working to address a fundamental injustice and restore dignity to individuals in South Africa. Our work aligns with the values of communal responsibility and social justice that are at the heart of the Jewish community.

The collaborative spirit of Mama Flo, founded and driven by three women, also reflects the power of communal action and the idea that our greatest achievements are often collective.

I believe I am a worthy winner because I am deeply passionate about making a real, tangible difference. This project, which I lead alongside my full-time career, is a testament to my commitment to finding ways to make a true and lasting impact in people’s lives.

My professional background as the first hire at Nature Connect’s Sustainable Schools Programme, where I helped grow a hybrid programme to a national scale, has provided a practical foundation for my social impact work. This, combined with my MPhil in Environmental Humanities, has allowed me to turn a personal passion into a professionally-led, meaningful, and measurable social impact that I hope the judges will find worthy of this incredible honour.

My vision for the future, for myself and for Mama Flo, is to grow our community and eventually expand to new provinces, creating more safe spaces for girls and young women to openly discuss and ask questions about menstruation. My vision is for menstruation information to be easily accessible to everyone and, as a long-term goal, for Mama Flo to grow to produce our own line of sustainable, reusable pads, turning our passion project into a sustainable initiative.

My dream for South Africa is that period products become a free and accessible basic human right, just as condoms are in many public places. I envision a future where women and girls can access these products in schools and public bathrooms without shame. Periods will no longer be a source of stigma, and people will feel free to talk about them openly, considering the full impact menstruation has on women’s lives.