Over 300 girls were presented packages with period products as well a literature books from the HerFlow Foundation in partnership with GrassROOTS Community Foundation at the Invest in Girls Summit.

Held last Friday (May 6), under the theme, Empowering Future Leaders, the summit aimed to empower girls by ensuring that they possess the resources to become future leaders.

The annual event, which was first held in 2019 at the St James High School, took place at the Holy Trinity High School in the Kingston capital for 2022.

The summit featured presentations from the likes of teen author, activist and founder of the #1000BlackGirlBooks Campaign, Marley Dias, GrassROOTS Director, Lisa Maxwell and Period Workshop by author, activist and HerFlow founder Shelly-Ann Weeks, with the former’s and latter’s literature books included in the packages received by the girls.

Tamara Amos-Williams, guidance counsellor at the Holy Trinity High School, who was presented with additional menstrual products for the institution, noted how appreciative they have been with the continuous out pour of support, which has resulted in reduced numbers of girls absent due to period poverty.

“Through the partnership with HerFlow, we have been able to drastically reduce the number of girls missing school because of period poverty. We are so appreciative because we have girls who come and get their menstrual supplies each month and HerFlow keeps us stocked since 2017,” Amos-Williams explained.

GrassROOTS Community Foundation President Dr Janice Johnson Dias, another author present whose literature book was included as part of the packages, shared how important it is to invest in girls, as they are among the greatest natural resources.

“When we invest in girls and women, we are ensuring a healthy and thriving society,” she added.

Director, Lisa Maxwell, echoed the president’s sentiments, noting that the health of the girls has everything to do with the health of the world.

“We must invest in girls because they are the seeds that we will bloom into our future bounty. The health of our overall world can be measured by the health and joy of our girls. So we have a choice – stay the course and end in famine or invest in girls for plenty,” Maxwell explained.

HerFlow founder Shelly-Ann Weeks also shared similar sentiments, saying: “We must invest in girls because empowered girls build strong communities.”

HerFlow Foundation is invested in empowering Jamaican women and girls as a part of its core mandate, which is why initiatives like Invest in Girls matter.