Updated | 200,000 pads for secondary-school girls

Girls from 14 secondary schools islandwide are set to benefit from the donation of 200,000 pads under the Always End Period Poverty campaign, which is aimed at increasing access to feminine hygiene products for those who due to financial challenges are unable to afford these basic items.

The campaign was launched in 2019.

At that time, 170,000 pads were distributed to secondary schools. The initiative is being done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and Her Flow Foundation.

“We are hoping that an initiative such as this continues to generate conversations around the topic of period poverty. Not having access to a safe and hygienic way to deal with menstruation can have profound consequences, particularly on girls’ education,” said Tamara Thompson, general manager of Consumer Brands Limited, the local distributors of Always.

“Another problem intertwined with period poverty is the taboo surrounding menstruation. This can be particularly harmful to girls going through puberty,” she said.

Deputy chief education officer at the Ministry of Education, Dorrett Campbell, while commending Always, also made an appeal for an expansion of the initiative to primary schools.

End Period Poverty Brand Ambassador Yendi Phillipps said she was concerned that thousands of girls across the world often have to skip school while having their periods because they lack basic menstrual-hygiene products.

“As a mother, I want my daughter to grow up in a country where having your period is freely spoken about. I think it’s time for us to start a new era of awareness and support for our young women,” she said.

“For far too long, our girls have been subjected to whispering about their period in the corridors of their schools, or behind closed doors in their bedrooms, or talking about the topic with their peers and subsequently getting wrong information,” she said.

Shelly-Ann Weeks, founder of Her Flow, lamented that despite starting the foundation four years ago, girls are still being taught that periods are unclean and must be kept private.

“As a girl, I was punished if my father went in the bathroom and saw my menstrual pads because I was taught to be so good at hiding my periods, and no one should be able to tell when I am menstruating.

“Today, our girls are still having the same experience. I believe this practice needs to stop if we are going to end the stigma and shame associated with having a period,” she said.

nadine.wilson@gleanerjm.com

*An earlier version of this story had incorrectly said schools islandwide are set to benefit from the donation of 20,000 pads.