Period poverty push

THE JWN Foundation expanded its fight against period poverty, distributing 2,016 menstrual kits to women and girls across Kingston, Clarendon, and St Elizabeth on April 2 and 3. This marked the largest distribution effort in the campaign’s history, demonstrating the foundation’s heightened and continuous commitment to addressing this critical public health issue.

The two-day distribution drive reached 17 schools and four care facilities, including primary and secondary institutions such as Seaview Gardens Primary and Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston; Racecourse Primary in Clarendon; and Sydney Pagon High School in St Elizabeth. The initiative built upon the foundation’s long-standing #EndPeriodPoverty campaign that has been tackling menstrual inequity since 2020.

With this latest distribution the JWN Foundation has now donated over 13,297 sanitary products to nearly 9,000 women and girls across Jamaica, representing significant growth in the foundation’s’ social inclusion impact. Social inclusion as a pillar of the foundation seeks to create the ability and opportunity for girls from underserved communities to have access to products and services that will enhance their daily activities.

“Every girl deserves dignity during her menstrual cycle, and no student should miss school because of a lack of sanitary napkins,” said Marsha Haughton, director of the JWN Foundation. “What made this year’s initiative particularly impactful was not just the increased number of beneficiaries but also the enhanced quality of our menstrual kits, which included not just sanitary napkins but also liners and disposable wipes, along with educational components about proper hygiene practices delivered by our nurses and company doctor.”

The expanded initiative followed the success of the foundation’s Spirited Women luncheon held in March to commemorate International Women’s Day, which was celebrated under the theme ‘Accelerate Action’, focusing on forging the way toward women’s equality and celebrating women’s achievements.

This year’s drive was executed in partnership with T Geddes Grant, and supported by a dedicated network of over 40 volunteers across the three parishes. Staff volunteers visited schools and community institutions during the designated times, providing both supplies and vital education about menstrual health.

“T Geddes Grant has been a proud partner of the JWN Foundation’s #EndPeriodPoverty initiative since 2023, and this year’s expanded reach truly demonstrates what’s possible when corporate entities join forces for social good,” said Latasha Hitchman, trade relationship manager of Kotex at T Geddes Grant (Distributors). “As a company that has been distributing Kotex products to Jamaicans for over 10 years, we recognise that addressing period poverty is not merely a health issue but an economic and educational imperative, which feeds into the Kotex slogan ‘She can’. The feedback from schools about improved attendance and confidence among female students confirms that our partnership is creating meaningful change.

“Period poverty continues to be an invisible struggle for many young women in Jamaica,” continued Haughton. “Teachers across the schools we visited reported that girls would miss several days of school monthly during their cycle due to a lack of proper menstrual products. The feedback we received during this distribution was overwhelming, with school administrators reporting that our donations and motivational sessions directly support their efforts to improve female student attendance, welfare and participation.”

She continued, “This initiative directly supports our social inclusion pillar by creating an inclusive environment for women and girls in our communities through promoting menstrual equity. We at the JWN Foundation demonstrated that by empowering women and providing them with necessary resources we can make a significant difference in their lives. Through this distribution we not only provided products but also dignity and opportunity to these young girls.”

At secondary schools like Garvey Maceo High in Clarendon, where 392 students received menstrual kits, the school’s Principal Erica Ewbanks highlighted another dimension of the programme’s impact.

“Beyond the physical products, the educational component addressing hygiene practices and menstrual health has fostered more open conversations about a topic that has long been taboo in our communities. This is social transformation happening in real time,“ she stated.

The distribution also reached vulnerable populations at care facilities, including Maxfield Park Children’s Home in Kingston, the Mustard Seed Communities, the Clarendon Infirmary, and the St Elizabeth Infirmary.

The JWN Foundation operates under three pillars –– education, culture and social inclusion -– and focuses its attention in areas surrounding its business operations at Spanish Town Road in Kingston, New Yarmouth in Clarendon, and Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth.

Her Flow Foundation’s Shelly-Ann Weeks engaging with students at Garvey Maceo High School during a presentation, as part of JWN Foundation’s End Period Poverty initiative.

Samantha Blake, project manager for the End Period Poverty Initiative, presenting a box filled with sanitary kits to Monica Smiley (right), principal of Race Course Primary school,