Male students at New Haven’s Hillhouse High School holding feminine products drive

Left to right: Standing in front of Hillhouse High School in New Haven are Reginald Slade, New Haven Board of Education Dropout Prevention Specialist in the Youth and Family Department, left, Patrick Robertson of New Haven, general contractor and owner of PMBS Enterprise LLC, and Kermit Carolina, New Haven Public Schools Youth Development and Engagement Supervisor, all advisors to the Kiyama Movement at Hillhouse High School that is raising awareness and funds to make feminine products readily available to female peers who are classmates and family members. less Left to right: Standing in front of Hillhouse High School in New Haven are Reginald Slade, New Haven Board of Education Dropout Prevention Specialist in the Youth and Family Department, left, Patrick Robertson ... more Photo: Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register Photo: Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Male students at New Haven’s Hillhouse High School holding feminine products drive 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN >> A group of Kiyama Movement students at James Hillhouse High School have come up with a new approach for respecting womanhood.

They’re raising funds and awareness about feminine products.

“The Kiyama students read an article which stated that 86 percent of women report that they’ve started their period unexpectedly in public without the supplies they need,” said criminal defense lawyer Michael Jefferson, the founder of the movement. “This campaign is designed to promote the need for freely accessible tampons and pads in restrooms outside the home, including schools.”

The fundraising effort will run until June 2.

Kiyama means “resurrection” and “Judgment Day” in Swahili and is dedicated to promoting self-improvement among African-American males of all ages.

Kiyama was founded May 19, 2005, as a tribute to Malcolm X on the 80th anniversary of his birthday, according to Jefferson, who’s the author of Deo Vindice The Resurrection.

The movement has five key principles: Respect for life, sexual responsibility, commitment to fatherhood, respect for womanhood, and economic accountability, according the group’s website.

“I’m so proud of the way these young men have tackled this issue,” said former Hillhouse High School Principal Kermit Carolina, who launched the Kiyama program at the school in 2011. “They have shown a degree of maturity far beyond their years. They see the value in this effort and they should be commended.”

Carolina now serves as the youth development and engagement supervisor for the district.

Samithasen Hubbard, a student leader of the group, said the goal of the new effort is to bring awareness to a problem that millions of women face every day.

“This is an opportunity for us as young men to help diminish the inequality gap between males and females,” said Hubbard, a senior at the school.

“I take pride in what we are doing.”

The group has made the school the drop off point for the donated products.

Products will be stored at the school and made available to female students on demand.

For more information contact Carolina at (203) 927-3614.

Reach Community Engagement Editor Shahid Abdul-Karim at (203) 680-9343.