PM’s Wife Lauds Programmes at the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF)

Wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, says the training and counselling programmes offered to teenage mothers at the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) have assisted them in making smarter decisions about their future.

“What I would hope is that more and more young girls who find themselves in this situation realise there is an option and there is a place they can come to get themselves back on their feet again,” she said.

Mrs. Holness was addressing journalists during a tour of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation in Kingston, on July 18.

She was accompanied on the tour by wife of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mrs. Sharon Rowley; wife of the Chief Secretary, Tobago House of Assembly, Brigid London; and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Allison McLean.

Mrs. Holness said the initiative also prepares the mothers to take care of their children and will “ensure that it does not happen again to them until they are truly ready”. She encouraged the girls to continue to work hard in their studies and not to allow their situation or circumstances to determine their destiny.

In the meantime, Mrs. Holness is suggesting that teenage boys who impregnate adolescent girls should receive training and counselling as well.

She said this will ensure that they understand their role in raising their child, while becoming responsible adults.

For her part, Mrs. Rowley said the programme offered at the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation is an “excellent” one.

“The programme itself is something I can take back to Trinidad and Tobago and I am sure it will benefit our country,” she said.

Mrs. Rowley urged the girls to continue being ambitious while working hard, adding that “the future is all yours.”

The tour formed part of the itinerary of the Mrs. Rowley and her husband, Dr. the Hon. Keith Rowley, who are in the island for an official four-day visit.

They are expected to depart the island on Thursday, July 21.

The Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) objective is to motivate young mothers to choose education instead of continuous motherhood.