Jamaican Women of Florida donates to Melody House’s construction
Published:Monday | October 16, 2023 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE MONTEGO Bay Community Home for Girls, more commonly known as the Melody House for Girls, has got a financial boost of US$12,500 (J$1.9 million) from the Jamaican Women of Florida (JWOF) charity to advance its construction plans for a new two-storey transitional building for their wards.
The management of the Melody House facility, which began its operations in 1979, received the donation from members of JWOF in an official handover ceremony at the Spring Farm Villa in Rose Hall, St James on Friday.
Christine Dexter, one of Melody House’s original founders and a currently serving board member at the facility, voiced immense gratitude to JWOF for its donation, which was one of several tokens of assistance that the charity has given to the home since 2013, the same year JWOF was formed.
“We really do appreciate this, and it is like Santa Claus coming down, because, in fact, we started the foundation and that has been three years now; and we have not been able to go any further because we do not have the funds. This fund will help us to move further along,” Dexter told The Gleaner.
“Our plan was that this building would be a two-storey building, with four bedrooms on the upstairs section, and then on the lower level we would have office space, recreational ground, and storage. We do not know how much this donation will be able to complete the building, but at least it will take construction to a stage where we can have it being used and occupied; and we are hoping that within six months or so we can get to using it,” Dexter explained.
Melody House, which has a capacity for 14 wards and currently houses 10 girls, was originally formed as a home for assisting girls and young women ages 12 to 17 who were being abused, abandoned, or otherwise facing difficulties at their natural homes.
At present, the facility serves young females up to the age of 18, at which time they are expected to transition away from the home and into society.
Provide additional housing
Janice McIntosh, president of the South Florida-based JWOF charity, said the transitional building, on completion, will provide additional housing for young women up to age 25 as they receive assistance with tertiary education and transitioning from the home.
“The transitional home is to be built for the girls and they will stay there until age 25, because at age 18, they are still very young and impressionable, and to have the world unleashed on them, it would be too soon for them. By age 25, they would have gotten their tertiary education or matured some more to be able to go out into the world on their own,” said McIntosh.
Friday’s monetary donation to Melody House was part of a three-day series of activities planned by JWOF’s leadership for their mission trip to assist the home, which they have been supporting since 2013 when the charity formally adopted Melody House as its local arm in Jamaica.
JWOF’s three-day mission trip included workshops, life skills training seminars, and various social activities with the Melody House girls as part of the charity’s mandate of empowering and uplifting women.