For years, Rea Pyne silently endured the physical, emotional and financial toll of uterine fibroids. Today, that experience has become the driving force behind a mission to ensure other women and girls across Jamaica do not have to face the same journey alone.

As founder of the Rea Pyne Foundation, Pyne is leading efforts to raise awareness about uterine fibroids, promote menstrual health education and combat period poverty through community outreach, advocacy and the distribution of menstrual products.

Her work comes against the backdrop of a condition that affects millions of women worldwide. According to medical experts, uterine fibroids are among the most common benign tumours affecting women of reproductive age, with an estimated 40 to 89 per cent of premenopausal women developing fibroids during their lifetime.