Five of the contestants in the Miss Windsor Talent and Awareness Pageant (from left) Charmaline Green, Roxanne Malcolm, Fadia Irons, Kameka Brown, Marshalee Bernard. - Photo by Carl Gilchrist
WINDSOR, St Ann:
There's a new and refreshing air of expectation blowing across the depressed community of Windsor in St Ann's Bay.
Youngsters of the community are being targeted by the Junior Chamber International (JCI), Ocho Rios, for uplifting, self-awareness activities that would, hopefully, serve to motivate them into adopting a more positive approach to life.
President of JCI, Deirdre Pryce, is spearheading the drive which has so far seen a community intervention project called 'Pon Di Corner' where JCI members have gone into the community to talk to people, to sensitising them about the aims of an upcoming project called SAINTS.
The launch
SAINTS, acronym for St Ann Inter-Agencies Networking for the Transformation of Social Services, will be launched this Saturday at Windsor Lawn, St Ann's Bay, and will serve to drive the efforts of self-renewal for community members of various St Ann communities, beginning with Windsor.
Saturday's launch will be part of a series of day and night activities, culminating in the staging of the first Miss Windsor Talent and Awareness Pageant.
SAINTS is a group of representatives from several social-oriented organisations, namely JCI, the Social Development Commission, National Council on Drug Abuse, Child Development Agency, and National Centre for Youth Development. The effort is being supported by the representatives of both major political parties in North East St Ann.
"Instead of going at it as a one-man approach, we're taking a group approach so we're doing it as teamwork," Pryce said in explaining the multi-organisational approach.
"Windsor is our first major initiative where we're going in to encourage community empowerment, after which we will be monitoring the community and then we move on to a different one."
Building self-esteem
As part of the overall approach, JCI will be staging the 'Miss Windsor Talent and Awareness Pageant'.
Six girls from the Windsor community have entered the contest and will be vying for attractive prizes.
"The contest is to build some self-esteem, as we're trying to do something to uplift the ladies. we're giving them a different view of life," Pryce said.