Adolescent mothers benefit from All Woman donation
JAMAICA Observer’s All Woman magazine completed its first donation drive in aid of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) Spanish Town centre Tuesday, with the handover of items collected for the adolescent mothers and their babies who use the facility.
The drive, which started in September last year, appealed to Jamaicans to donate new or gently used items to the centre, which was adopted by All Woman last year. The drive was an enormous success, and saw companies and individuals donating boxes and bags of baby items to include diapers and wipes, strollers, baby clothes and toys, books and educational items, and grocery vouchers.
The donation was received by counsellor and past student Tonette Shaw, who is now giving back after attending the centre, and completing her master’s degree.
Shaw, and support staff Sherol Blake and Tania Stone Morris, welcomed the donation, which will go to the last batch of girls who graduated from the centre in December, and the incoming group.
The Spanish Town centre, located on Monk Street in the old capital, caters to adolescent mothers 17 years and under from St Catherine, who are engaged in academic instruction and group and individual counselling to address a wide range of issues — inclusive of self-esteem, sexual and reproductive health and personal development — while preparing them to be reintegrated into the formal school system, or to advance to tertiary studies.
The centre’s on-site nursery, for which most of the items were donated, offers day care facilities for the babies of the adolescent mothers.
The Women’s Centre Programme for Adolescent Mothers was established in 1978 in response to the high level of teenage pregnancy experienced by the country. The organisation operates under the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. To date the programme — in seven main centres and 11 outreach stations islandwide — has served approximately 46,000 teen mothers, many of whom have successfully completed their secondary education.
“The drive is All Woman’s way of giving back, in a small way, to these girls who hold a special place in our hearts,” said All Woman Editor Petulia Clarke-Lawrence. “In 2019, just ahead of Mother’s Day, we treated 21 girls from the Spanish Town, Kingston and St Thomas centres at a luncheon hosted at the Observer, and we were touched by their resilience, and so wanted to maintain contact.
“These young ladies often face stigma in their communities because of their pregnancies, yet still choose to continue their education despite the criticism, and we just wanted to show them that we support them, and that we wish them the best for the future.”
Clarke-Lawrence made special mention of the donation from members of Women’s Leadership Initiative at the start of the drive, who commissioned discounted toys from Eustace Lee, baby clothes from Ammars, and $15,000 in vouchers from MegaMart.
Several other needs have been identified at the Spanish Town centre, including those of an infrastructural nature, that will be part of the continued drive into 2022.
