Spanish Town School Hosts Gender Celebration Day

The self-esteem of scores of female students at Ensom City Primary School was boosted on April 8 through messages around the theme, ‘Growing in Obedience, Discipline and Self-respect’.

The students were engaged in presentations on the importance of self-confidence and determination, at the institution’s Gender Celebration Day.

The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) was one of two agencies present to provide the girls with information.

Head of the Documentary Unit at JIS Television, Kerry-Anne Smith, addressed the girls on issues concerning women in society, and how they can grow up to become successful.

Ms. Smith told the students of the Spanish Town-based school that, “You are beautiful, you are wonderful, and you are special. You can be anything that you want to be. You just have to trust in God, and believe in yourself…we are wonderfully made, and we should accept ourselves,” adding, “we should love ourselves before we can love others.”

A devout Christian and a successful product of a Kingston inner-city community, Ms. Smith told her story, emphasising that a person’s background does not determine their future.

“At the JIS we believe in young people and we believe that you can be anything that you want to be. I’m coming from the ghetto where they say you can’t do anything. They said my mother and father don’t have any money and I can’t be anything. But God said he knows Kerry. He planted me in my mother’s womb and he knew beforehand that Kerry would be somebody big. Look at me now. I didn’t know that I would be on TV,” she told the children.

“So when someone tells you that you can’t do anything, tell them that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We should not put any limit on what we can do. Females can be engineers, teachers, doctors, builders, nurses, painters, soldiers,” she said.

One student, Fredricka Lyons told JIS News, “I’m enjoying today and it’s teaching me a lot of things that I didn’t know before.”

Another student Andreanna Bloomfield said, “I learned that education is the key to success, we should have ambition and not follow bad company.”

Also present at the event were representatives from Children First Jamaica.

The celebrations continue today, with a focus on the needs and challenges affecting boys.