SINCE its launch in 2020, the JWN Foundation’s End Period Poverty Drive has provided nearly 13,000 sanitary products to nearly 9,000 girls and women across Jamaica, helping to reduce stigma and improve access to essential menstrual care.

Building on this impact, the foundation has introducing a new layer to the initiative in 2026 through the installation of menstrual product dispensers in 17 schools across Kingston, Clarendon and St Elizabeth in an effort to ensuring consistent, year-round access to menstrual products for girls in underserved communities.

The approach is further supported by two scheduled product distributions during the year, ensuring immediate needs are met while dispensers provide ongoing access between visits.

This initiative was developed in response to feedback highlighting the need for menstrual products to be available throughout the year.

Rather than relying on one-off periodic distributions, the foundation moved to, this year, implement a more permanent, school-based solution.

To bring this model to life, JWN Foundation partnered with ‘Free Likkle Cupboard,’ a community-driven initiative launched in 2020 to provide free access to essential items through a shared responsibility under the ‘Tek a likkle, Give a likkle’ model.

“This partnership is especially meaningful because it shows how corporate entities can play a real role in strengthening community led solutions,” said De Andrea Jackson, founder of Free Likkle Cupboard.

“The idea has always been about shared responsibility; where everyone gives what they can and having the JWN Foundation step in this way helps expand that vision and bring it into more schools and communities,” added Jackson.

That shared commitment is already being well received as schools begin to see the practical impact of improved access to menstrual products.

“Having menstrual products available on the compound through the dispensers will change how we support our student’s day to day, especially the girls who are having their periods for the first time” said Amanda Hall, nurse at St Patrick’s Primary School.

“It ensures immediate access when it’s needed and reduces disruptions, allowing girls to stay in class and focus throughout the school year,” Hall added.

The JWN Foundation has further amplified its programme by introducing an ‘Adopt a school initiative’ which encourages the volunteers to support their selected schools by replenishing menstrual products at various times throughout the year.

“What was crystal-clear through our engagement with schools over the years is that access cannot be treated as a one-off intervention,” shared Garfene Grandison, general manager, JWN Foundation.

“By combining two scheduled distributions to stock the in-school dispensers, we are moving beyond temporary relief and creating a system that supports dignity, continuity, and access throughout the school year,” he said.

According to Grandison, the JWN Foundation has established this dispenser-based model as another core component of its End Period Poverty Drive and remains committed to implementing and expanding the approach as a sustainable, long-term solution to support women and girls in the communities it serves.

Director of the JWN Foundation Clement “Jimmy” Lawrence proudly displays the newly installed menstrual product dispenser at St Patrick’s Primary School. He is joined by Susan White (left), principal, and Amanda Hall, nurse. The installation at all of the foundation’s 17 schools was done in an effort to ensure consistent, year-round access to menstrual products for girls in underserved communities.