Dwight Howard is spending his offseason continuing to change lives in Tanzania

This work deserves more attention.

Dwight Howard has been using his offseasons to promote numerous philanthropic works in Tanzania, but his latest effort is making a life-changing impact on young women.

The NBA Players Association detailed Howard’s work alongside Sustainable Philanthropy Partners in East Africa to ensure girls have the basic sanitary products they need, which has a domino effect on their education. Howard explained to the NBPA:

“For a lot of the girls in these schools, once they go through their cycles, [the situation] is shunned upon,” he told the NBPA. “And they’re afraid to go to school because they get talked about.”

The lack of sanitary products in Tanzania is so bad that girls turn to using unclean cloth or even turn to prostitution in order to afford products during menstruation. This causes many young women to remove themselves from work or school for weeks out of the year, causing a lack of opportunities down the road.

“This is a huge challenge facing young girls,” said Laura Chauvin, the CEO of Sustainable Philanthropy Partners who has targeted her efforts through the years in East Africa. “It’s dignity at the simplest, most basic human level.”

Howard’s “D12 Foundation” began its work in Tanzania in 2011 when construction began on a dormitory for women, then a second was constructed in 2016. Howard learned about the struggles girls face in the area after hearing stories from directors in the area. Some young women walk 15 miles to school each day, others are victims of sexual violence — it was during this time he learned of the problems girls face as a result of menstruation and wanted to make a difference.

In July of 2016 his foundation delivered sewing machines and materials to make sanitary items at the dormitories. Now that program has expanded. Working with a company in Mumbai, the D12 foundation (along with a matching grant from the NBPA) will open a production facility in the country, which will turn pulverized banana leaves into sanitary products for a fraction of the price of options currently available in stores.

Along with the products, an education program will be made available to young women, which will serve as the only health classes available in the area.

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of free agency and skim over stories like these, but Howard’s work in Tanzania is making an incredible impact that will legitimately change the lives of young women.