Putting the Girl Child First is the first International project the Rolan Adams Legacy Foundation has embarked on.
Rolan’s life was tragically taken from him before he had the chance to fulfill his hopes, ambitions and desires. We vowed at the time to do something to ensure that his life was not taken in vain. The Putting the Girl Child First project was thus set up to give young girls and women, who too have suffered through no fault of their own, a chance to make a difference in their lives, to achieve their own hopes, ambitions and desires, and not to be defined by their adversities.
The aim of the Putting the Girl Child First project is to provide tangible support to young women who would othwise have been disenfranchised. Therefore the Rolan Adams Legacy Foundation has teamed up with St Anthony’s & St Mary’s Mother and Baby Home, part of the Mustard Seed Communities, and the SOS Children’s Village in Kingston Jamaica, to send one volunteer per year to work with them for four weeks.
The Volunteer will initially work in the mother and baby unit at St Anthony’s for two weeks and will assist:
- The Nurses and mothers to look after the babies
- With looking after the babies when the mothers are at school
- The in-house teachers with tuition for those who have not so far achieved the levels required to attend mainstream school
- With numeracy and literacy skills
- With running the afterschool homework club.
- With cooking, washing and general household duties.
At the SOS Children’s Village, the Volunteer will provide general support to the housemothers and teachers assisting with literacy and numeracy.
It is only fitting that the first Volunteer for the project is Shanice Adams (sister of Rolan Adams). Shanice will be in Jamaica in August 2014.
About St Anthony’s & St Mary’s and the SOS Children’s Village
St Anthony’s & St Mary’s supports young people who have been removed from “desperate environments”. The majority of the girls at St Anthony’s sadly, have been subjected to horrific levels of violence and sexual abuse, many of which have resulted in the girls becoming pregnant and young mothers; one girl in particular is merely 11 years old. Their experiences, some of which are at the hands of family members, is truly heartbreaking.
The SOS Children’s Village looks after vulnerable children who come from the ghettos of Kingston and are unable to live with their own families, some of whom are orphans. The Children are taken care of by a House Mothers and educated in-house until they reach the national standards for high school entry.