In today’s blog post, we hear from Shaniyah Wattley, the Facilitator and Co-Founder of the new Women’s Wellness Community, a new support group for women affected by fibroids, endometriosis and PMOS.
On 28th May, in recognition of Menstrual Hygiene Day, Lake Health and Wellbeing and the Department of Gender Affairs, Nevis, hosted a webinar entitled “Supporting Women’s and Girls’ Menstrual Health at Home, at Work, in School and in the Community.”
We’re delighted to announce that we have been awarded a grant through the Covista Caribbean Community Program to support the first 12 months of our new Women’s Wellness Community – a support group for women living with fibroids, endometriosis and PMOS (PCOS).
Recently, we had the pleasure of partnering with the Nevis Department of Gender Affairs and the Nevis Health Promotion Unit to host the Nevis edition of our Women’s Health Pop-Up Shop
2025 was a year of growth, learning, and impact for our menstrual health education programme. With the continued support of our funder, the ACF and new funder UNICEF Eastern Caribbean, our partners WASH United and our menstrual health educators, we were able to deepen our reach, strengthen local capacity, and create more inclusive conversations around menstrual health across St Kitts and Nevis.
We’re delighted to invite all women to drop by our women’s health pop-up shop on Saturday 23rd August from 10 am to 3pm at our office on Central Street in Basseterre.
What’s happening:
FREE health checks by the Ministry of Health
Purchase organic menstrual pads from Women’s Haven
Buy Blissfully Balanced Tea’s hormone support teas
A 1-hour yoga class led by YogaBae Jay (only EC $25, 2pm to 3pm)
Health Information
We are delighted to share an exciting update on our partnership with Dr. Fanta Waterman, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Community Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health.
On April 28th, 2023, the EmpowHer project held a successful workshop focused on PowerPoint and Digital Marketing for women living with chronic health conditions. The workshop was the third in a series of IT workshops facilitated by Keisha Archibald, the Business Development Manager at EZone. The session was split into two parts: one hour on PowerPoint led by Ms Archibald and one hour on Digital Marketing which was led by guest speaker Ms Kelly Louisy.
The topics for this workshop were selected based on feedback received from women who attended our previous IT workshops and confirmed the information that we had gathered on the need to empower women living with NCDs with practical skills to enable them to thrive in this new digital era.
The ability to use PowerPoint is important as it equips individuals them with an additional skill for job success, specifically confidence and creativity when it comes to public speaking. Whilst Digital Marketing is essential in helping expand a person’s reach, creating a personal brand, and thus generating income. Together, these skills work hand in hand to help women build their public persona which can thus improve their job prospects as well as lead to business success. This can then put them in a position to better manage their chronic illness and thus live full, successful lives.
We were therefore, delighted that all attendees were highly satisfied with this workshop describing the session as “great” and “really good.” Furthermore, participants reported that they are highly likely to use what they had learnt during the session and that they felt more confident using PowerPoint and about digital marketing.
In conclusion, the EmpowHer workshop on PowerPoint and Digital Marketing was a success, and the positive feedback from the participants shows that it was highly useful for their personal and professional development. The EmpowHer project is committed to continuing to empower women with the skills they need to succeed, and we look forward to organising more workshops in the future.
We are very grateful to Ms Archibald and Ms Louisy for their valuable contributions to this workshop.
On April 22nd, 2023, the EmpowHer project held an online workshop titled “Amplifying Your Voice.” The goal of the workshop was to empower women living with chronic health conditions through self-advocacy. The workshop was led by Julia Mandeville and Vania Patrick-Drakes from the Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS. The workshop covered the foundation of health literacy, the principles and benefits of self-advocacy, and goal setting.
The participants found the content to be thorough yet simple and adaptable. They appreciated the guidelines for self-advocacy, the personal bill of rights, the different types of self-advocacy and the sharing of testimonies from other participants.
Participants said they were ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to use the skills they learned in the workshop, and participants reported feeling more confident speaking up and advocating for themselves as a result of the workshop.
In conclusion, the “Amplifying Your Voice” workshop was successful in empowering women living with chronic health conditions through self-advocacy. The workshop provided valuable information and skills that participants can use to advocate for themselves and make informed decisions about their health.
Save the Date: Monday 22nd May 2023!
Lake Health and Wellbeing is excited to announce that we will be hosting the St. Kitts Premiere of the powerful documentary ‘Below the Belt’. We invite everyone with an interest in women’s health to join us for this important film screening and panel discussion.
Below the Belt shares the personal and inspiring stories of four patients who are urgently searching for answers to mysterious symptoms. The documentary exposes the widespread problems that women with chronic reproductive conditions face. Through the lens of endometriosis, a disease that affects 1 in 9 women, the film shows how women are often dismissed, discounted and disbelieved. It explores issues such as societal taboos, gender bias, misinformed doctors, and profit-driven healthcare. The film reveals how millions are silenced, and how, by fighting back, we can improve healthcare for everyone.
Following the St. Kitts Premiere of the documentary, we will hold a panel discussion featuring representatives from the St. Kitts Department of Gender Affairs, the Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS, the Mental Health Association, Wellness with Davia and endometriosis patients. The discussion will provide valuable insights into the challenges that women with chronic reproductive conditions face, as well as explore potential solutions to these issues.
This is a free event, but registration is required. You can register by completing the short form here which you can also find below.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our platinum sponsor, the Bank of Nevis International, for their support of this important women’s health event.
Bank of Nevis International provides holistic wealth and portfolio management with an inclusive and highly personal approach. They help their clients structure their global ambitions.
You can find out more about them on their website and following them on Facebook and Instagram
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We are also very grateful to our bronze sponsor. TappWater Caribbean for their support of this event. TappWater Caribbean aims to provide sustainable, affordable and convenient products for everyday use that eliminates the need for bottled water in order to have a positive environmental impact on future generations. You can find out more about them on their website
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We’re also grateful to our collaborators the Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS and Endo What.
You can register for this event using the form below.
Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at the event.
In the meantime, you can watch the trailer of the documentary below.
