Former Ward Of The State Is Determined To Succeed

Former ward of the State and Inaugural Identity (ID) Pioneers grant recipient for 2021, Newtana Jackson, says her determination to succeed can be attributed to the mentors who guided her throughout the years she spent at Maxfield Park Children’s Home,

The 19-year-old young woman, who received the grant of $180,000 on March 2 from ID Pioneers, has her eyes set on becoming a nurse who wants to serve in the army.

“[While] growing up, I liked helping people, and it’s something natural to me. What fueled the decision [to become a nurse] is that at 13 years of age, I watched my mother die and I didn’t like how she was treated in the hospital,” Miss Jackson tells JIS News.

“I wanted to be in the medical field helping people and treating people fairly, not because of their background but because they’re sick,” she adds.

Miss Jackson is now pursuing studies in practical nursing at National Academy Practical Nursing School. She started in January 2020 and is on the verge of finishing her studies in September this year.

Following this, she intends to apply to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), given that she wants her next bold step to be that of becoming a soldier.

“I want to be a nurse in the army. Nurses help people, and the army has principles and authority, and I like that. I have always wanted to be a powerful person, a person with authority who can help people,” Miss Jackson says.

Life was not easy for her over the years. After her mother died, she went to live with an aunt, then her father, who was later imprisoned, and, eventually, she ended up in State care at 16 years of age.

Miss Jackson says living in State care was not perfect, but she is grateful for the foundation it provided her and she made the most of it.

“Children living in State care, they’re angry, and they feel abandoned, but I didn’t feel that way because I knew my parents. It was an experience that built me, because in the Home you have to learn certain skills, how to live with persons, because if you don’t know how to coexist with your enemy or your neighbour in real life, you are not going anywhere,” she says.

“So, in the Home it was challenging but manageable,” Miss Jackson notes.

She attended Norman Manley High School, but did not do well in her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects.

Now, she is extremely grateful that ID Pioneers has intervened, chosen to mentor her, and has offered funds to help pay for her practical nursing course.

“I am grateful for the grant I received through ID Pioneers,” she tells JIS News, adding that she also wants to be a motivational speaker and mentor for other youth.

ID Pioneers is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that is focused on supporting youth to discover their true identity and potential, to live with purpose and powerfully influence their communities and the nation.

Founder, ID Pioneers, Leiseth Chambers, tells JIS News that they chose Miss Jackson to benefit from their ‘Our Purpose Fulfilment Life Skills Programme’ because she is intrinsically motivated to achieve excellence and influence others.

This is an attribute the programme facilitators identified through the mentorship they have been offering her over the years when they visited the Maxfield Park Children’s Home.

“Our Purpose Fulfilment Life Skills Programme supports all youth, but we strategically aim to identify the influencers within the different target groups. We employ this strategy because we believe that if you can transform the influencer, then most likely you may be able to transform the other youth in their circle of influence,” Ms. Chambers tells JIS News.

She recalled the first time she met Miss Jackson.

“When we went to Maxfield, I saw this young lady and immediately I recognised that she had leadership [potential] and influence, so we were intentional about putting in place a mentorship plan to continue working with her. She is originally from an inner-city community and has an older brother, a younger brother and sister, so we have plans in place to support her younger siblings; but being the influencer she is, we decided to start with her, enabling her to support them,” Ms. Chambers says.

“She has a powerful story and a powerful presence. She is definitely a young leader that ID Pioneers wants to recognise and encourage to continue on her path to purpose fulfilment, rooted in a firm understanding of who she is. Another reason is her passion for motivational speaking and mentorship, as she desires to mentor and inspire other at-risk youth, supporting them to understand that they do not have to be a victim of their past circumstances. These are skills that she is now honing as she now gives back by volunteering as a Youth Mentor in the ID Pioneers Programme,” she adds.

Ms. Chambers highlights that Miss Jackson has changed and matured much more since the group first met her.

“It is just amazing when I interact with her and hear her perspective on life now, in comparison to when we met her in 2019. It’s phenomenal. We really do look forward to how she will continue to powerfully influence her family, her generation and the nation as a whole,” she says.

The Identity Pioneers grant will be awarded to youth who display great leadership potential and are purpose-driven.