When passing one CSEC is a real success story - Ward of the state did it for Granville Place of Safety

Western Bureau:

Normally, passing a mere one Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subject would count for very little, but for 17-year-old Chanalee Williams, a ward of the state at the Granville Place of Safety in Trelawny, it was a case of beating the odds and being a shining example to her counterparts at the facility, which is reserved for so-called ‘bad children’.

Chanalee, who, because of an unfortunate situation, ended at the facility for girls at the age of 12, was enrolled at the nearby Perth Town Academy, where, because of her limited reading skills, she was placed in a special reading programme by the school’s principal, Shaunavon DeSouza.

“It was like a special light shone on her and she was transformed,” said DeSouza, in explaining how the quiet and somewhat reserved Chanalee evolved into being a confident student. “She started to read and was soon helping her peers.

“She gradually began to get involved in school activities, and in her final year (2019 to 2020) she was so involved that she was made head girl,” added DeSouza.

While the school, which focuses primarily focus on skills training, is not accustomed to sending up students for CSEC, the school decided to have Chanalee and two other students sit the visual arts examination.

“We thought Chanalee had developed the required confidence and maturity to perform at the CSEC level so we entered her alongside two other students for visual arts, and we are proud to say that all three were successful,” said DeSouza. “We are particularly pleased for Chanalee, considering that she came to us from a place of safety and has managed to prove her worth.”

DEPENDABLE LEADER

Chanalee’s success has been hailed by Natanish Hines, the Trelawny parish manager for Jamaica 4-H, who has been tracking her development during her time at the Perth Town Academy.

“She was my leader in the school; she was most dependable,” said Hines. “We are pledging to follow her on her journey to what we believe will be a successful life.”

Eric Vassell, the regional director of Child Protection and Family Service, who also hailed Chanalee for her devotion in seeking to improve her life, said that while she may not become a doctor or lawyer because of her chosen career path, he believes she will become a successful entrepreneur.

“She is not going to be like others who left our care to become doctors and lawyers, but she will be a successful entrepreneur,” said Vassell, having being apprised of the fact that Chanalee wants to be a cosmetologist. “Her ambition is to run her own business and employ others who may have been like her, traumatised in early life.”

In giving an insight of the well rounded and involved person Chanalee has become, Vassell spoke about how she had used an original poem in the annual Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) to tell the story of her traumatised life.

“She entered the JCDC competition in speech and drama with an original poem in which she spoke about her traumatised past. It was most touching as she spoke about forgiving the perpetrator of her trauma and her readiness to move on with her life,” said Vassell.

Chanalee, who will leave the Granville Place of Safety when she turns 18 years old in a few months, will move to a transitional home in Reading, St James, where she will continue to be under state care until she is ready for the world of work.