Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
Students of Holy Family Primary and Infant School participating in a peace march on Laws Street in Kingston as part of the school's Girls' Day activities, yesterday. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
YESTERDAY WAS Girls' Day at the Holy Family Primary and Infant School, which is situated on Laws Street in the volatile central Kingston area.
It was a day when the girls dressed like professionals; some as nurses, others as police officers, doctors, teachers and actresses.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
"We want to help our girls focus on careers from a very early age," said school principal Cecile Palmer. But that was not the only reason for the form Girls' Day took at the school.
The young children, led by a marching band, walked through the community singing, smiling and waving to bystanders.
"We want to send the message to the community that our children are serious about achieving. We are asking the community to let them grow up ... let go off the negative vibe," Ms. Palmer said.
Staged under the theme: 'Empowering Our Girls Through Career Development', the school's guidance counsellor, Marcia Richards-Gordon, said that workers at Holy Family Primary and Infant School are very serious about building a future. "Career development is a process. Career awareness is where the process starts. We want to show the girls that there is another way rather than getting pregnant," said the guidance counsellor.
THE FUTURE GENERATION
Ten-year-old Tashana Blair wants to become a paediatrician.
Why? Because I want to see the joy in the children's faces when I cure them of any sickness," she said. Teddine Walker, who is 11 years old, also wants to be a paediatrician. Her reason is simple. "I love taking care of babies. I don't like when they cry," she said. Regina Green hates seeing people suffer and this is the reason she is bent on becoming a nurse.
But what will the world be without entertainers? Cindy Clarke, 11, believes she has got both the voice and the skills to go into entertainment. That is why she has her mind set on a career in either singing or acting.
And as the old maxim goes, if the mind conceives it, then it can achieve it. Brown, the guest speaker, carried that message.
"You have to work hard if you want to achieve the profession you have chosen," she said. " ... and parents, members of the community, you also have a responsibility to these children. Help them by giving the necessary tools to work with and by providing them with a peaceful environment."
