Former ward Newtana Jackson is determined to succeed

Former ward of the state and Inaugural Identity (ID) Pioneers grant recipient for 2021, Newtana Jackson, says her determination to succeed can be attributed to the mentors who guided her throughout the years she spent at Maxfield Park Children’s Home.

The 19-year-old young woman, who received a grant of $180,000 on March 2 from ID Pioneers, has her eyes set on becoming a nurse to serve in the army.

“[While] growing up, I liked helping people, and it’s something natural to me. What fuelled the decision [to become a nurse] is that at 13 years of age, I watched my mother die and I didn’t like how she was treated in the hospital,” Jackson told JIS News.

“I wanted to be in the medical field helping people and treating people fairly, not because of their background, but because they’re sick,” she adds.

PRACTICAL NURSING

Jackson is now pursuing studies in practical nursing at National Academy Practical Nursing School. She started in January 2020, and is on the verge of finishing her studies in September this year.

Following this, she intends to apply to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), given that she wants her next bold step to be that of becoming a soldier.

“I want to be a nurse in the army. Nurses help people, and the army has principles and authority, and I like that. I have always wanted to be a powerful person, a person with authority who can help people,” Jackson said.

Life was not easy for her over the years. After her mother died, she went to live with an aunt, then her father, who was later imprisoned, and, eventually, she ended up in state care at 16 years of age.

Jackson says living in state care was not perfect, but she is grateful for the foundation it provided her and she made the most of it.

“Children living in state care, they’re angry, and they feel abandoned, but I didn’t feel that way because I knew my parents. It was an experience that built me, because in the home you have to learn certain skills, how to live with persons, because if you don’t know how to coexist with your enemy or your neighbour in real life, you are not going anywhere,” she said.

“So, in the home it was challenging but manageable,” Jackson noted.

She attended Norman Manley High School, but did not do well in her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects.

Now, she is extremely grateful that ID Pioneers has intervened, chosen to mentor her, and has offered funds to help pay for her practical nursing course.

“I am grateful for the grant I received through ID Pioneers,” she told JIS News, adding that she also wants to be a motivational speaker and mentor for other youth.

ID Pioneers is a non-governmental organisation that is focused on supporting youth to discover their true identity and potential, to live with purpose and powerfully influence their communities and the nation.

ID Pioneers founder Leiseth Chambers said Jackson was chosen as a beneficiary for their ‘Our Purpose Fulfilment Life Skills Programme’ because she is intrinsically motivated to achieve excellence and influence others.

This is an attribute the programme facilitators identified through the mentorship they have been offering her over the years when they visited the Maxfield Park Children’s Home.

“Our Purpose Fulfilment Life Skills Programme supports all youth, but we strategically aim to identify the influencers within the different target groups. We employ this strategy because we believe that if you can transform the influencer, then most likely you may be able to transform the other youth in their circle of influence,” Chambers told JIS News.

She recalled the first time she met Jackson.

“She has a powerful story and a powerful presence. She is definitely a young leader that ID Pioneers wants to recognise and encourage to continue on her path to purpose fulfilment, rooted in a firm understanding of who she is. Another reason is her passion for motivational speaking and mentorship, as she desires to mentor and inspire other at-risk youth, supporting them to understand that they do not have to be a victim of their past circumstances. These are skills that she is now honing as she now gives back by volunteering as a Youth Mentor in the ID Pioneers Programme,” she said.

Chambers highlighted that Jackson has changed and matured since the group first met her.

“It is just amazing when I interact with her and hear her perspective on life now, in comparison to when we met her in 2019. It’s phenomenal. We really do look forward to how she will continue to powerfully influence her family, her generation and the nation as a whole,” ID Pioneers founder said.

The Identity Pioneers grant will be awarded to youth who display great leadership potential and are purpose-driven.