People in rural and remote Northern Ontario communities can expect to pay double the price for the same menstrual products found in larger cities in Ontario—it’s even higher for remote fly-in First Nations communities where a box of tampons can range from $16 to $45, forcing people to choose between menstrual products and groceries.
Ashley Perreault and Lucie Ménard, medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), organized a sustainable menstrual product drive for the fly-in community of Fort Severn First Nation—the most northern community in Ontario. In March 2021, they set a goal to raise $4,000 to cover the costs of the menstrual products. They quickly surpassed that goal with a successful GoFundMe campaign that raised a total of $6,180.
“The media interest in our work helped raise awareness with generous donations from community members across Northern Ontario, as well as NOSM’s Equity and Inclusion and Global Health student committees,” says Lucie.
Wasaya Airways has generously committed to covering all the shipping costs and will be delivering the products to the fly-in community. There will be menstrual kits available for every single menstruator in the community.
“Wasaya Airway’s donation is exactly the kind of community partnership required to make this student leadership effort a success,” says Dr. Sarita Verma, Dean, President and CEO of NOSM. “I’m continually impressed with the advocacy efforts of our medical students. These individuals are demonstrating the positive impact they will have on Northern communities as future physicians.”
“NOSM has an important relationship with Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario, who provide students with invaluable learning opportunities throughout their time in medical school,” Ashley says. “As students who are dedicated to addressing the priority health concerns of the people and communities of Northern Ontario, we were focused on relieving the financial burden on those who menstruate in Fort Severn.”
Support for the community was identified by Sam Senecal, NOSM’s Indigenous Affairs Community Coordinator, who is responsible for arranging all aspects of learner placements in Indigenous communities. The students consulted with Fort Severn’s Health Director to determine which reusable products would be the most appropriate for the community and reusable cloth pads were chosen.
The funds raised were used to create 125 menstrual kits which included: five reusable pads that were purchased at a discount from Lady Crimson Cloth Emporium in Sudbury; a waterproof wet bag discounted from Colibri Canada; a container of Oxi-All; a stain stick donated from The Old Soul Soap Company; and, instructions on how to wash the pads. Bleed the North donated 566 tampons and 196 single-use pads.
The position of Local Officer of Reproductive and Sexual Health at NOSM is an elected position with a one-year term. Both Ashley and Lucie hope future students will continue this initiative and ongoing advocacy and education about health inequities experienced by Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario.
Background
The NOSM medical students’ menstrual product drive started in 2017 for the communities of Attawapiskat and Fort Albany First Nations. The first drive received generous support from grocery stores in Sudbury and donations from the NOSM community. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a renewed online fundraising effort to provide a sustainable solution for Fort Severn, with a focus on reusable products.
Evidence suggests that non-reusable menstrual products contribute to climate change with over 200 billion menstrual products being dumped into landfills every year. Chemicals in pads have been found to cause groundwater pollution, loss of soil fertility, and are hazardous to human and environmental health.
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About Wasaya Airways
Operating since 1989, Wasaya Airways, in partnership with Exchange Income Corporation, is comprised of ownership by 12 First Nations: Bearskin Lake; Fort Severn; Kasabonika Lake; Keewaywin; Kingfisher Lake; Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug; Muskrat Dam; Nibinamik; Pikangikum; Sandy Lake; Wapekeka; and Wunnumin Lake.
About the Northern Ontario School of Medicine
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities. NOSM’s graduates, faculty, learners and staff are changemakers who lead health-system transformation in Northern Ontario. The School is a recipient of the Charles Boelen International Social Accountability Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the prestigious ASPIRE award, which recognize international excellence in social accountability and medical education.
For further information, please contact: news@nosm.ca
