With Carnival in Jamaica now at an end, the renowned Carnival Band, Xodus, now aims at giving back to the community before its next appearance at CayMas.

Although it has built a legacy for hosting major carnival events, Xodus loves to give back to the community, and for its latest venture, Xodus has collaborated with the Her Flow Foundation as the Band aims to aid in ending Period Poverty in Jamaica.

“Carnival is Woman” is a popular rhetoric during the Carnival Season, and is a proven fact because 70 per cent of Xodus jumpers are women. Therefore it was an easy decision for Xodus to focus on helping to make the lives of many Jamaican women a little easier, through this initiative.

Marketing Manager at Xodus Carnival Shanique Hayden shares that, in light of women’s month, “We wanted to focus on an initiative that’s directly beneficial to women, therefore we decided to give our support to the “End Period Poverty” campaign. We have an immense admiration for the work that the Her Flow Foundation has been doing, coupled with their ability to reach girls all over the island who are suffering from Period Poverty. As a result, we jumped at the idea of working with them. This initiative was made possible by us calling on our revellers, inviting them to donate menstrual products. We were able to collect over 1000 packs of sanitary items, thanks to the plethora of people who stopped by the showroom just to make their donations.” Along with these donations, Xodus has also donated over $100,000 worth of menstrual products.

In a pledge of allegiance, Cari-Med, one of Xodus’ Carnival's sponsors,  also donated $100,000 worth of menstrual products from its ‘Confidence’ brand of menstrual products, matching Xodus’ donation. When speaking on the matter, Hayden concluded that regardless of their efforts, “The harsh reality is that many of our women aren’t in a position where they can afford a month or two supply of pads. Through our efforts, we hope to lessen the disparity that exists, while we work towards a more inclusive future for our women. We will continue working with Her Flow to provide more assistance where we can, and we’re encouraging our other partners and supporters to also contribute to this very worthy cause if they can”.

The handover of the donations was done on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at the Xodus Showroom to the Founder of the Her Flow Foundation, Shelly-Ann Weeks. She expressed her gratitude by saying that “Her Flow Foundation is truly grateful to the Xodus Team for this generous donation. We get requests from schools daily asking for support because many students are not able to manage their periods because of Period Poverty. It is support like this that made it possible for us to donate over 8 million products since Her Flow’s inception to Jamaican public schools, prisons, community organizations, Government run homes and individuals. Thanks to everyone who participated in this drive and a special big up to Cari-Med for their generosity as well. Together, we can permanently end Period Poverty so every Jamaican woman can have dignified periods”.