Highlights from the Nevis Women’s Health Pop-Up Shop
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
Tag: women’s health
A Year of Progress in Menstrual Health Education
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.
Women’s Health Pop-Up Shop
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
Exciting Next Steps for Our Research Project
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.
PowerPoint and Digital Marketing
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.
“The presenters were really good. Feel more confident playing with all the features. Going to be experimenting with branding.”
Workshop Attendee
EmpowHer Project
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.
Amplifying Your Voice
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.
“The entire presentation serves as confirmation for me to continue advocating for myself and for others.”
Workshop Attendee
EmpowHer Project
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.
Below the Belt: St Kitts Premiere and Panel Discussion
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.
Register
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.
Navigating the Digital World
Providing women living with NCDs with IT training is crucial in today’s digital age. It enables them to access health information, connect with others, and manage their conditions effectively. On March 30th, 2023, we hosted a workshop on Navigating the Digital World, facilitated by Keisha Archibald, IT Specialist and the Business Development Manager at eZone.
In this blog post, we present feedback from the participants, including what they found most helpful, skills they plan to use and additional comments and feedback
The Importance of IT Training for Women Living with NCDs
Women living with NCDs face numerous challenges in managing their conditions. Inaccessibility to information, inadequate health systems, and lack of access to healthcare providers can lead to poor health outcomes. However, technology provides an opportunity to improve the lives of these women. IT training equips them with the skills and knowledge to access health information, connect with healthcare providers, and manage their conditions effectively.
About the Workshop
The Navigating the Digital World workshop aimed to provide participants with essential IT skills to improve their daily lives. The workshop covered various topics, including productivity tools, navigating email, and cybersecurity. The workshop was attended by 11 out of the 16 registered participants.
Feedback from Participants
Overall, the majority of participants (10) were very satisfied with the workshop, while one participant was satisfied. Participants found the many ways IT can improve everyday functions, productivity tools, and helpful ways to navigate emails, among others, the most helpful aspects of the workshop. No participant found anything least useful about the workshop.
Regarding the skills they plan to use, the majority of participants mentioned using Zoho for invoicing and enhancing their business records. Other tools like ChatGTP, Quickbooks, PowerPoint features, and learning about security and passwords were also mentioned. Eight participants said they feel more confident using IT after the workshop.
In terms of additional comments and feedback, participants were highly appreciative of Keisha’s excellent presentation and expressed eagerness for more practical sessions covering Excel Spreadsheet, Graphic design, and Invitations. Participants also suggested offering further training, even if it has a cost, to expand their knowledge and skillset.
Conclusion
The Navigating the Digital World workshop provided participants with essential IT skills and knowledge, empowering them to manage their health conditions and improve their daily lives. The feedback received from participants indicates that the workshop was successful and beneficial to them. We appreciate the participants’ feedback and suggestions, and we plan to incorporate them in our future workshops to enhance the learning experience. Providing women living with NCDs with IT training is critical in today’s digital age, and we remain committed to equipping them with the necessary skills to navigate the digital world effectively.
EmpowHer Reflections
In today’s blog post, we are thrilled to share insights from Terysia Herbert-Browne, our Consultant Project Officer for the EmpowHer project. Terysia offers her unique perspective on the project’s impact thus far. Join us as we explore the journey of EmpowHer and how it’s empowering women to reach their full potential.
EmpowHer is a woman-led initiative that hopes to equip women living with chronic diseases with the tools needed to achieve success in their personal and professional lives. The project taking off during Women’s History month 2023 is quite fitting. So far we have had a cohort of dope, ambitious, women partake in our workshops. Our participants have engaged in workshops around budgeting and financial wellness; how to embark on successful entrepreneurial ventures; best practices for navigating success within their career as well as tools for self-management of chronic diseases in the workplace. I am proud to seeing the participants actively taking part and getting the most of out of the workshops. I am especially impressed by our facilitators most of whom are local women in various career fields, each at the top of their games in their respective careers while also actively working to improve the lives of women around them. The saying “Empowered women, empower women’ comes to mind, and I think our facilitators are fantastic examples for our providing another invaluable aspect of the initiative.
While I do wish to see more women in the federation take advantage of this powerful workshop series, I am very proud of our current cohort; I mean we have a wide range of awesomeness! From PhD candidates to veteran entrepreneurs to women involved in multiple business ventures. These ladies are already doing the work to ensure that they and their families are well taken care of. Being a part of this initiative has left me both humbled and inspired. I think one of the most powerful results of Empowher is the networking opportunities it brought about. We have women from all walks of life discussing their goals and realizing the potential for collaboration. I also think being surrounded by like-minded, go-getter women has given a lot of us the validation we didn’t know we needed to go forth and conquer our dreams. Women of St. Kitts/Nevis have always been hard workers, so that’s nothing new, what I am seeing recently is a shift in the power dynamic. We are being more intentional in our pursuits, we are working smarter, identifying ways to support our families while still being present, we know our worth and are charging accordingly.
The EmpowHer project set out to ensure women had the tools needed to live the best version of their lives, and while I think it is accomplishing that task, I think we also got to see “iron sharpen iron” an outcome we didn’t fully expect, but absolutely welcome. I’m excited to see how the ideas and collaborations birthed during the EmpowHer workshops translate into new jobs and business ventures and ultimately future success for our participants.
Fibroids and Fertility
In this webinar, our guest speaker, Dr Stacey Bryan, will be exploring the impact that fibroids may have on a patient’s fertility and will provide guidance for patients wanting to start a family.
All are welcome to attend, you can register here – https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ETY7hVR6R2O7gD1WTppwUA