Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation’s ‘her-story’
THE WOMEN'S Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) was established in 1978 as a response to the high rate (31 per cent) of adolescent pregnancy in Jamaica.
The concept of enabling girls who drop out of school on account of a pregnancy to continue their education, was embraced by the Government of Jamaica. The programme for Adolescent Mothers (PAM) was, therefore, birthed and implemented through the women’s desk, later named the Bureau of Women’s Affairs.
In 1977, the then director of the bureau, Peggy Antrobus and her team, wrote a proposal for a programme to address the problem of high adolescent pregnancy rate and to assist adolescent mothers to continue their education. Funding for the programme was secured from the Pathfinder Fund, a division of USAID, and International Planned Parenthood Federation.
‘HOLDING CENTRE’
Director Hazel Blake, who took over from Antrobus, engaged Pamela McNeil, who at the time, was advocating for a ‘holding centre’ for adolescent mothers to continue their education, with running the programme. The house at 42 Trafalgar Road, which served as a residence for resident magistrates was identified by the Government as the space to house the programme. The doors of the first centre was opened on April 1, 1978, to 17 adolescent mothers recruited from six secondary schools and clinics across Kingston and St Andrew. The programme has since expanded to include 10 main centres and eight outreach stations islandwide.
In 1991, the programme gained foundation status, thus being named the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) and operates as a limited liability company under the auspices of a government ministry; presently the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
The foundation offers the following services through its main centres and outreach stations:
1. Continuing education for teen mothers 17 years and under.
2. Counselling for baby father, their parents, and parents of teen mothers.
3. Confidential counselling services for children, adolescents, and young adults.
4. Peer counselling training sessions (summer) for in-school youth.
5. Daycare facilities for (i) babies of teen mothers, and (ii) babies of working mothers.
6. ‘Walk-in’ counselling service for women and men of all ages.
The PAM includes: academic instructions, individual and group counselling, and training in vocational areas. The older girls are prepared to sit the CSEC, while the younger girls are reintegrated into the formal school system after the birth of their babies.
The young ladies are encouraged to delay subsequent pregnancies until they have achieved their career or vocational goals. To date, 47,788 teen mothers have been ably assisted by the programme.
CENTRES
(Est. 1978) Kingston Centre (Est. 1978) Montego Bay Centre (Est. 1986) Port Antonio Centre (Est. 1987) St Ann’s Bay Centre (Est. 1988) Spanish Town Centre (Est. 1991) Savanna-La-Mar Centre (Est. 1991) Junction Centre (Est. 1991) Denbigh Centre (Est. 1992) Morant Bay Centre (Est. 1994) Santa Cruz Outreach (Est. 1995) Lucea Outreach (Est. 2000) Highgate Outreach (Est. 2007) Jones Town Outreach (Est 2013) Duncan’s Outreach (Est. 2014) Ewarton Outreach (Est. 2016) Kellits Outreach