Companies Invited To Support WCJF Beneficiaries

Companies and individuals who wish to make donations to beneficiaries of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) can do so by contacting the entity’s locations across the island.

About 500 adolescent and expectant mothers have been affected by the closure of the centres due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, recently provided ‘dignity packages’ comprising food, toiletries and necessities for the baby, to beneficiaries of the Foundation.

She also invited persons to contribute to the programme and to put packages together for the girls during the period of COVID-19.

Executive Director of the WCJF, Dr. Zoe Simpson, told JIS News that persons can call the centres for information on how to make cash donations “since clothing is not being received at this time”.

She said that persons can register to donate through the Foundation’s website at https://womenscentreja.com or follow the WCJF’s activities on the social media at @womenscentreja.

Meanwhile, Dr. Simpson is reminding adolescent mothers to practise social distancing by staying at home and maintaining a distance of at least two metres from others.

She said that mothers must pay keen attention to the well-being of their babies and to limit their interaction with other persons.

If persons are standing within one metre of a person with COVID-19, they can be infected by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled, according to a Ministry of Health and Wellness guidance handbook for the disease.

The Executive Director is also encouraging the girls to keep academically focused amidst the challenges and to contact their counsellor or manager “if they are in need”.

Dr. Simpson said that the girls should also utilise the available resources to continue their preparation for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and to complete and submit their school-based assessments (SBAs).

The mobile numbers for the WCFJ’s main office on Trafalgar Road, St. Andrew, are 876-517-1148 or 876-517-1152.

Numbers for the 18 locations are:

• Denbigh, 876-810-2576;
• Junction, 876-810-5985;
• Kingston, 876-810-6348;
• Mandeville, 876-810-4402;
• Montego Bay, 876-810-3971;
• Morant Bay, 876-810-5676;
• Port Antonio, 876-810-3723;
• Savanna-la Mar, 876-810-4519;
• Spanish Town, 876-810-4539;
• St Ann’s Bay, 876-810-3374.

The Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, is mandated to assist girls 17 years and under who have dropped out of school due to a pregnancy.

They are allowed to continue their education at the centres nearest to them for at least one term, and are subsequently returned to the formal school system after the birth of their babies.