Women’s Centre Gets $964,000 from Venezuela

The Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) is to receive US$9,000 (J$964,000) from the Venezuelan Government, in memory of its former President, the late Hugo Chavez.

Free Spanish lessons will also be offered to teenage mothers who are registered with the Centre, at the Venezuelan Institute in Kingston.

Minister with responsibility for Information, Senator the  Hon. Sandrea Falconer, who took the Venezuelan Ambassador to Jamaica, Her Excellency Jacqueline Mendoza Ortega, on a tour of the Centre’s head office in Kingston, on January 30, said the facility provides a great opportunity for teenaged mothers.

“I am very grateful that you have thought of the Women’s Centre Foundation, because it does such good work for our pregnant teenaged girls. It is a trying time for them when they get themselves in those situations, and to have a place like the Women’s Centre, where they can find sustenance, and have an opportunity for a good life, it is important,” the Minister said.

Senator Falconer noted that she had met the late President of Venezuela and regarded him as a person with a “good soul.”

“I have seen the things that he had done in his own country to advance women. This is a fitting place to commemorate him. We are very grateful,” the Minister said.

For her part, Ambassador  Ortega explained that her office  wanted to do something for Jamaica that represented what the late leader believed in.

“President Chavez was involved in the struggle of the women without opportunities – single women with their sons and daughters in difficult situations – so we wanted to do something in tribute to him,” she said.

Meanwhile, Senator Falconer has requested Executive Director of the Centre, Dr. Zoe Simpson, to prepare a document for the Ambassador, so she can see what  Jamaica is doing for its teen mothers,  and what her country can adopt to reach their young mothers.

The WCFJ is a national programme that addresses the problems of interrupted education and the accompanying social problems that occur when an adolescent girl drops out of school because of pregnancy. Girls 17 years and under who become pregnant whilst still attending school are referred to one of the centres located across the island, by teachers and other agency representatives.