The Beautywell Project based in Minneapolis, aims to end skin-lightening practices and chemical exposures. Individuals live in a healthy lifestyle and embrace their identity and culture.
In 2019, NIRH partnered with The Beautywell Project to launch the Young Women’s Leadership Initiative (YWLI), which prepared a cohort of young Muslim women from Somali communities to become local advocates in the Twin Cities. With support from NIRH, the cohort had the opportunity to learn about their own reproductive health and well-being and to advocate for their community members on issues that matter to them. In 2020, NIRH supported The Beautywell Project in expanding the YWLI to different Somali-majority neighborhoods in the Twin Cities, with a specific focus on environmental justice and sexual and reproductive health and well-being. The participants also learned how to best use social media as an advocacy tool for their communities.