200 girls to benefit from menstrual health initiative

Approximately 200 girls from Montego Bay and surrounding communities in St James are to benefit from a menstrual health education and confidence-building initiative being staged in the parish for the first time.

Dubbed The Wellness Cycle, the event will be held today at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre in Sam Sharpe Square. It is being organised by New York-based organisation Dear Ambitious Girl and the Rotary Club of Trafalgar New Heights, with WalkGoodLA and the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce as lead sponsors.

The initiative comes as St James and other western parishes continue to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, which claimed more than 40 lives, caused billions of dollars in damage and disrupted livelihoods and daily life.

The participating girls, aged 10 to 15, were selected from schools across St James. They will take part in a full day of discussions and activities with healthcare and counselling professionals, educators and menstrual health experts, including United States (US)-based medical doctor Dr Natasha Ramsey.

Each participant will also receive a care package containing menstrual and personal-care essentials, along with meals and refreshments.

The Wellness Cycle is the flagship initiative of Dear Ambitious Girl and has reached more than 1,000 girls and distributed more than 36,000 menstrual products in the US and Nigeria over the past two years.

Lola Falana, founder and executive director of Dear Ambitious Girl, said the programme was designed to go beyond providing menstrual products by equipping girls with knowledge and support to manage their health with confidence.

“The Wellness Cycle was created from the belief that menstrual health is about so much more than access to products,” Falana said. “It’s about giving girls the knowledge to better understand their bodies, creating safe spaces where they can ask questions and making sure they have the resources and support they need to feel confident. We are incredibly excited to bring that experience to Jamaica and work alongside these local partners to create a meaningful day for girls in Montego Bay.”

Shunelle Nevers, who is leading the project's implementation on behalf of the Rotary Club of Trafalgar New Heights, said the intervention was important, particularly as many girls continued to lack access to accurate information about their health.

She suggested that the challenges created by Hurricane Melissa may have further compounded the situation.

“As Montego Bay and the wider parish of St James recover from Hurricane Melissa, we want to make sure girls are not overlooked. Bringing The Wellness Cycle here, for the first time in Jamaica, tells our girls that their health, their questions and their well-being matter, and that this community is investing in them as we rebuild together,” Nevers said.

“Every girl deserves to understand her body and to manage her health with confidence and dignity.”

The initiative is supported by SN Global Advisory Limited, For Women by Women Period., Nelson-Brown, Guy and Francis Attorneys-At-Law, Gorjus Doc, Bold Giraffe, Spaces Limited, WolGlow, Inspire and Serve Limited, HerFlow Foundation, Obstetrics Plus Limited, Life’s Essence Products, the St James Municipal Corporation and iPrint Group of Companies.