Editor's Note: The Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation serves young women,
including a program for adolescent mothers that helps them continue with their education
in order to acquire better job skills. Charmaine Johnson, the foundation's financial
manager, recalls her own experiences as a pregnant teenager, and how the foundation helped
her.
By Charmaine Johnson
Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation
KINGSTON, Jamaica -- I learned about the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation through
teachers at the high school I was attending. They were concerned about my future and knew
that the center's program would put me back on the path to achieving my goals.
At the Kingston Women's Centre, I was taken into the arms of people who knew my
situation, did not discriminate against me, thought that I was capable of tremendous
achievements and encouraged me to fulfill that potential.
I was cushioned by counselors who made me realize that despite my unplanned pregnancy,
my dreams and aspirations could still be realized.  They showed me
where I had made mistakes and helped teach me how to love and care for the unborn child
who was already mine.
There were weekly family life classes, where I learned about contraception and caring
for an infant. These classes featured group discussions, talks by specialists,
distribution of articles and pamphlets, films and individual counseling.
Having to deal with my parents and boyfriend would have been difficult, but my family
life counselor met with my mother to discuss matters. My mother quickly became very
understanding and supportive, which made me so comfortable and gave me a feeling of
acceptance. This feeling motivated me and boosted my self-esteem. I'm sure it gave me the
will power to prove myself, the desire to make her proud of me.
There were other adults who helped me, including teachers who guided my continuing
education through my pregnancy. They prepared me for re-entry into school by providing the
syllabuses that were being taught.
That was 10 years ago, when I was only15. I now live with my lovely daughter, Jenise,
who is 10, and my mother. Programs that seek to help young adults should remember how
other adults, especially parents, can help their clients. Parents can understand, and
programs should build upon that bond between parent and child.
Preparing for adulthood
Quite simply, the Kingston Women's Centre helped me prepare for adulthood at a crucial
time in my life. Being a teenage mother is very difficult, and a young mother without
guidance can easily fail. The center, along with my mother's support, helped prepare me
for this new world I was in.
Proper care for my baby and myself was essential, and the ability to think and perform
as an adult was equally crucial. I had to acquire these new attitudes. I was still a
teenager, and acted like one when among peers. Hence, I was burdened with a double role of
being a teenager at school and a mother at home.
The center surely helped me to emerge as an adult, to become the woman I am today. I am
strong, I am able to encourage other young women to continue their dreams. I am better
prepared to give my only child the guidance and love that she needs. Academically, I
achieved my goals. I was given the opportunity to return to school and move to higher
levels.
But this strength, and the achievements that followed, were not easy to acquire. At the
time, learning I was pregnant was more than I thought I could bear. At first, I did not
believe the doctor. I had to be tested twice by separate doctors before accepting this
reality. And when I began to accept my condition, tears filled my eyes. I felt as though I
was locked in a building with the keys thrown away.
My greatest fear was thinking that I had to sit at home taking care of an infant that
would destroy my dreams. I would not be able to become an accountant or teacher, as I had
planned. I thought about how disappointed my teachers would be.
Despite these fears, my teachers were very supportive and visited me through my
pregnancy. The Kingston Women's Centre, my teachers and my mother's unshakable faith in me
helped bring me to my feet again.
Whenever I see a young woman who is pregnant today, I talk to her and invite her to
visit the Women's Centre. When she goes there, she will know that people care about her.
She will be encouraged to continue her education, she will learn about family planning and
will acquire other important skills, and she will gain important insights about herself.
For more information, visit Family Health International's Website at www.fhi.org
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