Sandals, Bob Marley foundations help teen moms
ON June 10, two of the Caribbean’s most renowned brands — the Sandals Foundation and the Bob Marley Foundation — handed over 20 computers to the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) to assist with the new modality of delivery of the Virtual Delivery Infrastructure (VDI) CSEC programme.
WCJF Executive Director Dr Zoe Simpson said she was ecstatic to receive the computers equipped with software as they have struggled in some centres with as many as eight teenagers using one computer during a class session.
The VDI programme at the Women’s Centre, which commenced in September 2015, offers distance learning through its seven centres and 12 outreach sites across the island. The WCJF seeks to assist teenagers, whose education become delayed due to pregnancy, to complete their secondary education.
Dr Simpson said prior to the initiation of the programme, it was difficult for the young mothers to travel to Kingston from all over the island for classes. This difficulty resulted in dwindling numbers of students. The introduction of the VDI programme saw a significant increase in registered students, but class sessions were difficult with only one computer at each site.
The donation of the computers was another project under the Women Helping Others Achieve (WHOA) programme that was launched in February 2016.
At the handing-over ceremony, Director of Programmes at Sandals Foundation, Heidi Clarke, highlighted that the WHOA programme seeks to address several areas of need for women across the Caribbean.
The main focus areas are education for pregnant teenage girls, skills training, funding for women in sports, counselling and mentorship for abused women, and provision of health equipment for rural health clinics and local hospitals.
The WHOA programme is designed to help marginalised women across Jamaica and the Caribbean to have support, inspiration and strength to transform their lives and in so doing, to positively impact their families and communities for generations. Donations have amassed over $2.4 million for the Jamaican arm of the programme.
