GoodHeart | Di Flow Fairy donates menstrual supplies to Mount Alvernia High
Published:Saturday | September 27, 2025 | 12:07 AMRuth-Ann Briscoe/Gleaner Writer
For many girls, managing their menstrual cycle can be stressful, especially when financial constraints limit access to products. In some cases, this can even affect their education. To help, Di Flow Fairy has recently donated menstrual products to Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay, giving female students better access to essential supplies. Diamond Joelle Cunningham, founder of the Di Flow Fairy initiative, is a research coordinator with a reproductive health nonprofit. With years of experience in healthcare, she is passionate about raising awareness of period poverty. She is also currently pursuing a doctor of philosophy in social, behavioural, and population sciences.
Although she didn’t go to the school herself, Cunningham knows several women, including her mother, relatives and close friends, who are Mount Alvernia alumnae. “Some of them grew up with very limited means, so they did not speak openly about their struggles at the time. Over the years, they shared memories of managing their periods in those crisp white uniforms,” she told GoodHeart.
Over several phone discussions with principal, Kayon Whyne of Mount Alvernia, the two have been planning for a three-phase student leadership programme that involves the school’s form captains. “[They] will serve as champions of menstrual dignity in their classrooms. They will help stock supplies, gather feedback, and shape the choices we make about products,” Cunningham added.
Planting seeds
Talking about the realities of girls transitioning into having their periods, Cunningham shared that, “too often [they] meet silence instead of encouragement and anxiety instead of normalcy. [This] is what Di Flow Fairy negates”.
Hoping to help create a society where access to menstrual products is seen as a basic right for students, Cunningham said that involving young people in menstrual health advocacy now is planting the seeds for a culture where conversations about equity are normal and dignity is non-negotiable.
Describing this time as one of the most vulnerable period in a girl’s life, she explained why she chose sanitary napkins as the focus of her donation efforts. “Too many girls walk into classrooms anxious and distracted, more focused on hiding leaks than on learning. They avoid sitting comfortably in their chairs, hesitate to join group activities, and sometimes stay home altogether. Others resort to makeshift solutions like toilet paper, old rags, or even socks. [These] methods are unreliable, unsafe, and at times dangerous to their health,” Cunningham pointed out.
With this in mind, she initially set the goal for Di Flow Fairy to have 2,000 sanitary napkins donated. “I wanted it to feel achievable. In the worst case, I could have filled a few suitcases myself and still made a difference,” she added.
Aiming to allow students to focus on their education, and stock the nurses station with the donated sanitary napkins, Cunningham was able to surpass her goal, including US$610 in monetary donations, thanks to support from social media, as well as her other connections.
“We collected 19,961 individually wrapped pads. Support came from donors in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom,” Cunningham said, adding, “People shared personal stories about why menstrual equity mattered to them, asked about making monthly contributions, and even explored replicating the programme in their own communities.”
When it comes to long-term and beyond a one-time donation, Cunningham shares her plans for the Di Flow Fairy, including an online registry and donations during the current academic year.
“Our long-term plan is to move from a single drive to a lasting system of support. We are using the US$610 in monetary donations to partner with Jamaican pad companies so deliveries can continue throughout [this] school year and beyond. I plan to create an online registry directly linked to these companies so donors can continue choosing products just as they did in this campaign, while also supporting local businesses and strengthening community resources”.
The products arrived in Jamaica on Thursday, and the institution, along with its principal and student leaders, has begun the accessibility process for the student population.