GAINING a college education can often be the gateway to securing jobs with greater wages, financial security, and a better quality of life. Achieving this goal can be significantly more challenging for Jamaican single mothers combating statistics that say nearly 40 per cent of the country’s households are headed by a single parent. The Jamaica Alumnae Chapter (JAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is putting its global reach into action to help a local student get her education with their ‘Mission Possible Scholarship.’

The 18-member organisation headed by Chapter President Jewel Daniels Radford reached out to their sorority’s members to raise the US $10,000 to completely cover the tuition cost for a deserving student enrolled at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus. The organisation is an international organisation of college-educated women committed to improving the lives of women and girls. Daniels Radford said this project puts JAC in a unique position to change the trajectory of a single mother’s life.

“Many of us know intimately the journey of raising children without sufficient support whether it is our story or that of someone close to us,” she said. “Our goal is to help lift the financial hardship off the shoulders of an academically strong student who is wrestling with obtaining her degree while balancing the demands of motherhood.”

This project is the brainchild of the chapter that created a partnership with the University of the West Indies Open Campus under the leadership of retired Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Luz Longsworth. It continues with the support of interim Principal Dr Francis Severin who said the initiative aligns securely with the Open Campus mission of access and underscores the well-known fact that investment in single mothers is one of the most efficacious ways of enhancing the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.

Applications are being excepted through May 10, 2022, with more information available at the Jamaica Alumnae Chapter’s website www.dstjac.com.