Adolescent mothers get second chance
THE WOMEN’S Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) has been empowering teenage mothers through its Advancing Secondary, Tertiary Remedial Education for Adolescent Mothers (A-STREAM) programme.
The initiative, which was launched in March 2018, has three main components: mentorship, sponsorship, and scholarship.
WCJF Director of Field Operations Beverley Martin Berry says that the foundation is in the business of successfully reintegrating adolescent mothers into the formal school system.
She notes that this requires some level of support as it relates to providing the adolescent mother with the adequate resources to continue her education in the formal school system.
The A-STREAM programme offers $140,000 in tertiary scholarships to adolescent mothers who have matriculated from the WCJF programme. It also provides a $40,000 bursary for adolescent mothers who have been reintegrated into the secondary-school system.
Forty adolescent mothers have received bursaries to aid with their high-school expenses, and three teen mothers have received tertiary scholarships.
FATHERS CAN GET HELP, TOO
“In a case where the adolescent father is still in school and requires support, the A-STREAM programme, through scholarships and bursaries, can provide this type of support along with mentorship,” Berry explained.
So far, two adolescent fathers have benefited from the programme.
“We currently have an adolescent father who was in the final year of school and opted to drop out so that he could seek employment to be able to take care of his child. Through the A-STREAM programme, he will further his education as he will be supported,” Berry stated.
For her part, executive director of the WCJF Dr Zoe Simpson noted that the foundation wants all adolescent mothers in Jamaica to access and continue their education during the period of their pregnancies.
“All of them should be on par with their peers when they return to school. They must not be left behind on account of pregnancy. It doesn’t matter that a girl is pregnant. She can still achieve all her life goals, and we want to walk beside her to ensure that she achieves those goals,” Simpson said.
The WCJF is a 40-year-old institution operating under the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.