‘Why not me?’

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), the agency responsible for children in foster homes across Jamaica, issued a challenge to girls at the Granville Place of Safety in Trelawny on Friday, as non-profit organisation Children of Jamaica Outreach (COJO) and Bahia Principe Grand Jamaica fêted them.

In a message presented by Kristen Laing, the public relations and communications manager at the CPFSA, the agency’s chief executive officer, Laurette Adams-Thomas, urged the girls to rise to the occasion and seize opportunities when presented, instead of just watching others claim the prize.

“Why not me?” she told the girls to ask themselves.

The following is her address:

“My sweet girls, I want you to listen closely – not just with your ears, but with your hearts.

In life, there will always be those who try to limit you based on your past. They may look at where you come from and assume it defines where you are going. But I am here to remind you that their limitations are exactly that – their limitations. Not yours.

It does not matter what you have been through. What matters is that you keep moving forward. Keep growing. Keep striving. Keep believing. Believe that you are worthy of good things, that you deserve love, joy, success – and that God has already placed blessings along your journey, waiting for you to reach them.

‘WHY ME?’

When life feels unfair – and I know it has felt unfair – you may find yourself asking, ‘Why me?’ ‘Why did this happen to me?’ But today I challenge you to flip that question on its head.

When good things come your way, when opportunity knocks, when hope whispers to your heart – ask yourself, ‘Why not me?’ Why not you to go to university? Why not you, to own a business? Why not you, to become a lawyer, a scientist, an author, an entrepreneur, a leader? Why not you, to be a change-maker, a mentor, a light in someone else’s darkness? Why not you, to rise above your circumstances and write a new story? Why not you, to be happy, to be proud, to be powerful? Why not you?

Girls, you are not the sum of your struggles. You are the seeds of resilience, blooming with strength and purpose. You are becoming. You are evolving. You are more than your pain, more than your past, more than the assumptions others place on you. Your destiny is not written in yesterday’s ink, but in the choices you make today – and the dreams you dare to dream for tomorrow.

You are worthy of good things. You are deserving of joy. You have every right to hope, to dream, and to succeed.

Believe that God has planted good things along the path of your life, and those good things are not for someone else – they are for you. They are yours to claim.

As the phenomenal Michelle Obama once said, ‘There is no magic to achievement. It’s really about hard work, choices, and persistence.’ My girls, if you keep moving forward, keep growing, striving, believing – you too will write a story you are proud of.

So today, I leave you with a challenge, and a declaration.

When opportunity knocks, when dreams stir in your heart, when fear whispers that you’re not enough – I want you to silence it with courage and ask:

‘Why not me?’

Hold your head high. Open your heart to the love and encouragement around you. Walk tall, walk proud, and walk boldly into the future that is waiting for you. And when you feel doubt creeping in, silence it with these three powerful words: ‘Why not me?’

May you continue to rise, to shine, and to become all that you are meant to be.

God bless you all.”