Kiwanis Club of Young Professionals urges adolescent mothers to “create their vision”
THE end of secondary education marks a defining moment for many young people as they make critical academic and career decisions to create the future that they envision for themselves. Unplanned pregnancy, however, disrupts the educational pursuits of teenage girls and often thwarts their plans for a successful future.
Adolescent mothers in the graduating class of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) were encouraged, not only to envision their bright future, but to visualise it and create it during a recent vision board workshop organised by the Kiwanis Club of Young Professionals, Kingston, at the WCJF Kingston centre.
The workshop aimed to encourage some 50 girls in attendance to create a road map for their future by helping to equip them with the necessary tools to visualise, plan and achieve their dreams and the successes they desire for their lives and those of their children.
Transformational coach Caleen Deidrick, who facilitated the creation of the vision boards, encouraged the adolescent mothers: “See failures and setbacks as opportunities to learn, grow, try again, and make better choices.”
She highlighted that in creating their vision boards, the girls should focus on the aspects of their lives that mattered most — such as their careers. She added that it was important to use bright papers in creating their vision boards, as this underscored the bright future they were seeking to create for themselves and their children. Deidrick encouraged the adolescent mothers to hang their vision boards high to spur them to achieve success and to keep them motivated. She also reminded them of the importance of spiritual growth and the need to use positive words/affirmation in their daily lives so that they could manifest the best version of themselves.
Brittany Singh-Williams, who brought remarks from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, used the analogy of the lioness to charge the adolescent mothers to face their fears and to rise up and live the lives that God envisioned for them.
She urged them to be caring, yet fearless in the face of adversity and to take care of their children with the fervour of the lioness in protecting her cubs from danger.
The workshop was the second such developmental event organised by the club in partnership with the WCJF, in keeping with the club’s mandate as a global volunteer organisation whose mission is to serve children and communities; through service and leadership with community-based projects focused on educational development projects, beautification projects and programmes geared towards at-risk youth and children.
