The Sisterhood411 Founder: Women’s Month is About Impact and Celebration

Yamkela Mqikela has a simple way of describing herself: “I’m a sister that gives information.” It’s how the 2025 Miss South Africa contestant and founder of Sisterhood411 explains her work addressing period poverty and menstrual equity across South African townships.

Growing up in Gordon’s Bay, she was surrounded by what she calls “the beautiful sceneries, the mountains, the beaches, the vineyards.” When she moved to Khayelitsha – vibrant with life but lacking the access she’d known at home – it was in this transition she encountered something deeper. “I found my purpose in giving back to the community because I had privilege,” she reflects. “The information, knowledge and network that I had was the reason why I gave back.”

An experience in her personal life prompted her to establish the non-profit she founded in 2018. “I never really had a bigger sister that I could, you know, just vent to,” she explains. “I wanted to be that.” In the beginning, it was simply distributing sanitary pads, but today the organization reaches out to government departments to develop policy solutions.

Activate Journey

The 2019 Activator found her a natural connection to Activate. “I was introduced by a fellow Activator and then I later found out that most of the people in the circle that I know are Activators,” she recalls. “So that was quite exciting…they shared – you need to be on this journey as well because, you know, the alignment was just brilliant.”

The program brought “a lot of affirmation that I was on the right track in terms of the work that I do. A lot of introspection in terms of my leadership,” she reflects. She was introduced to tools like the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which gave her “a firmer voice, you know, without understanding structures and who’s accountable for what and the channels in which and the tools to use to channel.”

If there’s one thing about the ACD Program, it’s that it requires active citizenship. Determined to ask questions about making local government work, she approached a local councillor about the IDP, only to be met with resistance:

“He said to me, ‘I don’t understand what business you have in asking about it.’ That triggered a lot because then I was starting to ask questions about the budget.” However, the realities of township politics eventually forced her to step back. “At one point I had to back off because I’m not trying to get myself killed.”

Carrying the same grit but redirecting her energy, she found her answer: “It really gave me that flame, you know, that I can do it. I can be that mouthpiece.“

Sisterhood411

That flame landed purposely in 2018 with the founding of Sisterhood411. “Sex is a choice and periods are not,” became the motto driving her mission to aggressively bridge the gaps of period poverty in the townships. The name came from necessity: “I’m a sister that gives information. The 411 is for information. So I always come bearing gifts… knowledge, opportunities.”

Initially, the work was straightforward – ensuring no child misses school because of menstruation. Pointing out the disparity to access: while condoms are readily available in barbershops and public spaces, “it’s not every day where you see a tampon or a pad accessible.” Her belief is clear: “I truly believe that sex is a choice, and the cycle isn’t. And neither is it a privilege to have access to pads or tampons.”

Several of their interventions revealed devastating truths. “Through the sessions we’ve had, the saddest stories were from necessity… it’s almost choosing which basic need to get first.” During COVID-19, the situation worsened, she shared – children were using disposable masks as a substitute for sanitary pads.

During one of their Eastern Cape outreaches, they heard heartbreaking accounts of girls using toilet paper and rags. The lack of education worsened matters: “When I started my period, I never knew what was going on… I thought I had done something wrong.”

Towards Sustainable Health Approach

But as the years progressed, she began questioning the standard approach. “Over the years of doing it, you get to understand that it seems like everyone is doing it for the pictures. What happens next? What happened after that?” Her inquiry revealed something troubling – conventional products were causing health problems.

“The pads that these young girls are using now are not good for their reproductive system. They come with fibroids, they come with cancer,” she explains. This realization demanded a more strategic response than simple distribution. Working alongside the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities through the Sanitary Dignity Policy framework, she sought sustainable solutions that prioritized both access and health.

The answer came through partnering with Dignity Organic Pads, owned by Dr. Vivian in Johannesburg. The partnership ensured products wouldn’t harm the young women they were meant to help – a shift from emergency relief to wellness.

Today, Sisterhood 411’s work spans multiple initiatives: the Stay in School (SIS) dignity drive, “Take a Girl to Prom” experiences, and “Model Me” sessions that build confidence through modeling, etiquette, and leadership. As she puts it: “I’m trying to teach these kids that they don’t have to model anyone else, but the model is inside themselves.”

Expanding Her Reach

As soon as Yamkela steps into a room, her presence transcends to everyone present – social impact is her passion and her life’s calling, she understands community upliftment as a collaborative effort. “We’re trying to bring in more organisations, because we know that there are a lot of NPOs with the same mission and vision. We work together for the same thing. It works better than the competition,” she explains.

She doesn’t just run Sisterhood411. As part of World Merit, an international organization working directly with the United Nations to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, expanding her impact globally. Moreover, she runs Connoisseur Designs, a company dedicated to helping businesses elevate their structures through marketing, PR, and communication. “Our goal is simply to make a difference throughout the entire community by helping business owners brand their companies in a way that best reaches their target audience,” she explains.

As we celebrate and commemorate Women’s Month, we co-share Miss Mqikela’s philosophy: “We can all play our part in the little corners that we’re in, and that’s all, to be the change that we want to see.”

Being a woman in South Africa, with various atrocities, she reminds young women that social change starts with one person. “If not me, then who?” she asks. “Can’t outsource impact.” The fulfilment, she says, comes from knowing “you’ve touched and sparked and changed people’s lives and you were there for them and you still continue being there whichever other way.”

SistaHood411 Initiatives you can support

For those who would like to support her mission, SistaHood411 offers various ways to get involved. Through her Stay in School (SIS) initiative, “we’re asking people to donate as little as R50, which is equivalent to one packet of organic Dignity organic pads,” she explains. “But more than anything, if you have R450, it gives a year’s supply.”

With sustainable impact in mind, “You can either donate a child that you want to sponsor R450 to have sanitary for with their panty liners, or you want to either adopt a school…R10,000 would ensure that kids have a supply.”

Lastly, her “Take a Girl to MD” program continues making matric celebrations accessible to those who otherwise couldn’t afford them, providing dresses, makeup, photographers, and the full prom experience.

While South Africa struggles with systemic challenges affecting women and girls, Yamkela’s approach remains unchanged: start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. “Let women lead,” she says simply. “Daily people say, oh, no, but women lead with emotion. Perhaps, you should try to lead with emotion. Maybe we wouldn’t have so much going on.”

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About the Author:

I’m Aphelele Mtwecu, a proud member of the Activate Change Drivers Network and a 2016 Activator. I am a 33-year-old ambivert who works as a content writer, activist, and creative. My true passion lies in youth development, transformation, and making a meaningful impact. Every day, I encounter the world seeking healing, innovative solutions, and fresh methods to drive social change on my personal journey. My work and advocacy reflect my unwavering commitment to fostering positive change.