Marymount High School’s Holiday Helpers brighten Christmas for teens at Women’s Centre

Eleven teenagers who are being cared for at the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) in Highgate, St Mary have had their Christmas season brightened somewhat after the Marymount High School’s Holiday Helpers club last Friday gaved them much-needed items to help care for their newborn.

For the past nine years the Holiday Helpers, under the supervision of the school’s guidance and counselling department, have opened their hearts to residents of St Mary communities at Christmas time, spreading joy and love through tangible donations to those in need.

There is added significance to their gift giving this year as the focus on assisting teenage mothers at the centre means that a group of kind and bright Jamaican young ladies have moved to assist their peers who have found themselves in the unfortunate position of being pregnant teenagers.

Care and thought went into filling the baskets with items that mothers would need for their newborn including bottles, warmers, diapers, socks, bottle brush, dribblers, comb and brush sets, blankets, wipes, rags and several other items.

“It means a lot to them,” counsellor at the WCJF, Merline Campbell-Green, said of the gifts.

“Two of them (teenagers) would have just had their baby, two of them were in the hospital and baskets were presented to them in the hospital and they were all aglow,” Campbell-Green said.

She explained that most of the teens were being supported only by their parents as the fathers are not coming forward to take up their responsibility, either because of legal implications or otherwise.

“Some of them, their parents are really struggling. The baskets had basic supplies for the girls which a lot of them would have struggled to get some of those items, so it was greatly appreciated and just right up the stream to what the girls would have wanted.”

DEMONSTRATION OF LOVE

Newly appointed principal at Marymount, Alphonso Christie, hailed the tradition that he has inherited as leader of the all-girls institution, describing the Holiday Helpers yearly gift-giving as a demonstration of love.

The fact that this year the focus was shifted from the elderly to young teenage mothers is significant, he believes.

“It indicates to us that as ladies they understand that they could also find themselves in that situation,” Christie told The Gleaner.

“And we want the ladies to understand, this could be me, I could be in this situation. That’s what you want them to understand, to exercise empathy but to understand that, listen, we have it now, but at any time this can change, so while we can, we give what we can give,” he added.

Christie said the work of the Holiday Helpers has brought pride to Marymount High School and the effort will continue.

He added, “It’s about giving and not counting the cost. As a school I think we’re big on that and it is something that will continue. We have a unit that prides itself in ensuring that these projects are identified and that the students give, to ensure that somebody, some student, some children, some adult can benefit from this.

“It is who we are as a school. What they did was really expressing and demonstrating love; it’s one of those things that come with Christmas.

I’m proud of what they do and we’ll continue to impact lives like that.”