Minister Grange and Fantasia visit Women’s Centre

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Friday, March 18, 2016 – Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport (CGES), the Honourable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, today visited the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation in Kingston with International Recording Artiste, Fantasia, ahead of her performance at the annual ‘Blues on the Green’ Charity Concert to be held this evening at Emancipation Park.

During her tour of the facility the Minister used the opportunity to offer words of encouragement to teen moms. “Treat your experience as a learning one, hold your head high and strive to mature into your best selves. Use Fantasia as an inspiration.” Said Minister Grange.

She told the girls that their children may “grow to become the next Prime Minister or one of the greatest personalities in Jamaica”.

Fantasia used the opportunity to share her experience of being a teen mom with the girls and offered them advice as they go through this phase of their life.

The Ministry has arranged transportation for the girls to attend the concert this evening.

Commentary

This is a brief Background …

The American Embassy for a number of years has put on a free public concert and has encouraged patrons to bring a small food item which in turn is on donated to a chosen charity. This concert is always well supported by young, not so young and has mass appeal.

This year as usual, an internationally acclaimed recording artiste is flown in. Fantasia will be that artiste as headliner in 2016 and will be supported by local acts. Dubbed ‘Blues on the Green’ the acts are usually of a very high standard. It is an open air event so the weather has to cooperate.

As was before the venue is Emancipation Park, opposite the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. Parking is tight but pedestrians as before attending have no problem … security is good. A massive crowd estimated at 3000 and counting attended. It was a gala event and the Embassy should feel proud of the outcome.

Women’s Centre

Women’s Centre caters for teenage pregnant mothers … offering them educational support in the form of a second chance to further peruse their life’s goals despite getting pregnant early. It is a drop in centre and is funded and operated by the State. Minister Grange has political oversight. The centre falls under the ‘Gender Affairs’ segment of the Ministry of Youth.

There are class rooms there and the young women in attendance actually are back in school. Formerly a number of these young mothers would drop out of the formal school system and have an uncertain future. There have been success stories as lives have been rehabilitated.

In addition to be a drop in centre … babies are taken there by their mothers during class time and are cared for while the mothers are in class. So those lactating can still be attended to.

It is an excellent social programme that helps to keep families together. Many of these single moms later get qualified and are professionals today … gainfully employed and taking their rightful places in society.

Vision has this initiative which has stood the test of time.

It was great that Fantasia was able to witness first hand a programme like this in Jamaica.
This is first world stuff.

We will follow up in Vision with more details on the concert.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is Senior International Correspondent for Vision Newspaper Canada.