We were introduced to
Navajo Preparatory School during our November 2021 series of site visits to schools we support within the Navajo Nation. Registered nurse Kandice Duvall is committed to ensuring that Navajo Prep students have the period products they need to succeed in school. She was excited at the prospect of our furnishing students period underwear, so we sent over 100 pairs right away, along with disposable pads, tampons, and cotton underwear.
While the students decided that they preferred period care options other than the period underwear, they have had an “overwhelmingly positive response” to the products we continue to share with them, according to Kandice. She reports that having products in bathrooms across campus has reduced their shyness about their periods. “Students are now expressing their specific needs when it comes to menstrual hygiene products, particularly requesting a variety pack of tampons and pads that align with their menstrual flow,” Kandice said. “This suggests that the availability of these supplies has allowed students to have a more personalized and comfortable experience during their menstrual cycles.”
Navajo Preparatory School is a college preparatory school, fully sanctioned by the Navajo Nation since 1991. It recruits some of the best and brightest Navajo Nation students of the Navajo Nation, teaching students about life, science, beauty, songs, languages and harmony. We at The Kwek Society treasure the opportunity to provide its students supplies, because these efforts increase students’ sense of dignity, ease access issues, and reduce the financial impact on students’ families in obtaining these essential products. We appreciate nurse Kandice’s supportive approach to period care, and love hearing that students visiting from other schools for sports and other activities are excited to find period care items readily available to them!
