Ocho Rios councillor-caretaker Nicola Hamilton joins Jamaica International Fashion Week to raise diabetes awareness

Nicola Hamilton, councillor-caretaker for the Ocho Rios Division, is lending her voice and her personal experience to diabetes awareness efforts during the inaugural Jamaica International Fashion Week (JIFW), scheduled for November 19 to 22 at Island Village in Ocho Rios.

Hamilton, who has lived with diabetes for more than 20 years, will walk on stage during the event as part of efforts to increase awareness of the disease, which is being observed during National Diabetes Month in November. The promoters of JIFW, which aims to promote fashion tourism, commissioned Hamilton to serve as their strategic international partner on the ground in Ocho Rios, extending the event's reach beyond the runway.

"The Jamaica International Fashion Week, they also wanted to give back to the community, so they asked me to become their strategic international partner here on the ground in Ocho Rios before they come in," Hamilton told The Gleaner. "So, I will be doing the walk to bring awareness to diabetes during that week of Jamaica International Fashion Week, and to raise funds however we can to help purchase medicine for a mother, or an elderly person who cannot, sometimes, come out, and to buy machines and see if we can get vegetables into the rural homes."

Hamilton reached out to the Diabetes Association of Jamaica (DAJ) for guidance on how best to support people in rural Jamaica affected by diabetes. Several years ago she established the Rural Women's Development Organization (RWDO) to empower rural women, but this time her efforts include both men and women. The task takes on added urgency, as diabetes affects about 12.5 per cent of the Jamaican population, or one in every eight people.

"I reached out to the Diabetic Association of Jamaica because I don't know of diabetes being on the lips of a lot of people on the ground, especially here in the rural area. Not enough attention is being paid to it," Hamilton said. While the DAJ serves as a healthcare hub at its Downer Avenue location in Kingston, providing medical care and education on diabetes management, such services are not readily accessible to many people living in rural communities.

Hamilton said her introduction to representational politics during the local government elections in September 2025 opened her eyes to the needs of the elderly population in particular. "As you go door-to-door, you hear people saying they don't have medication and they're diabetic. It's hard for me sometimes to maintain proper eating habits, in terms of what to buy, what to eat and accessing the machine to check my levels, because it's really costly. So my concern was about how these people manage on a regular basis, if I'm having difficulties," she argued.

She has already reached an agreement with the DAJ on a community mobilisation process. "What we've agreed to is a mobilisation process within the community, so we can go from school to school, community to community, clinic to clinic, give more in-depth talks and give support, and we actually want to start a support line. For now, I'm focusing on St Ann, St Mary and Trelawny."

Jamaica International Fashion Week will feature designers from Europe, Africa, Jamaica, Iceland and Trinidad. According to the organisers, the event will include runway shows, designer showcases, industry workshops, networking opportunities and cultural experiences.