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Young mothers feted by Sandals

Published:Sunday | March 18, 2012 | 12:00 AM
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'Oooh, ahhhh spa' These young ladies at the Women's Centre in Savanna-la-Mar are all in a state of total relaxation as they enjoy first-class back and neck massages from spa therapists at Sandals and Beaches Negril's Red Lane Spa. In photo (from left) Beaches Negril's beauty therapist Sharon Walker-Evans and Sandals Negril's beauty therapist Andrea Lynch.
The inspiring and powerful team of ladies from Sandals, Beaches and Grand Pineapple resorts in Negril pause for a photo with the equally phenomenal Paulette Heron (left), centre manager at the Women's Centre in Savanna-la-Mar. - Contributed
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In celebration of International Women's Day on March 8, 2012, a team from the Sandals resorts in Negril treated over 20 young mothers at the Savanna-la-Mar Women's Centre to a day of first-class service complete with power talks, lunch and spa therapy.

Staff members from Sandals, Beaches and Grand Pineapple resorts spent a few hours at the centre conducting self-esteem sessions aimed at motivating and mentoring the young girls. As part of the exercise, participants were also encouraged to highlight powerful women who have played an integral role in their lives and who continue to encourage and inspire them. They were later treated to a delectable lunch courtesy of the luxury resort group.

Massage, beauty and rehydration therapists from Sandals and Beaches Negril's celebrated Red Lane Spa combined island-style back and neck/hand and arm massages, manicures, hand exfoliation and warm paraffin wraps to rejuvenate the mothers and put them in a state of tranquility and relaxation.

"I was treated like royalty today," expressed Nikesha Brown. "People often disrespect us and call us names because we got pregnant at a 'young' age but the entire experience with Sandals helped to rebuild our self-esteem and made us feel beautiful and worthy as women."

powerful talk

For Shadae Jones, another young mother at the centre, the power talk was most memorable. "Having strong, powerful women talk about their experiences and how they succeeded against the odds really encouraged and inspired me. I now know there are so many opportunities still waiting out there for me like the Sandals hospitality training programme I only learnt of today," she revealed.

The Sandals Hospitality Training Programme is a free six-week course that grants internationally recognised certification in soft and technical skills training, with direct exposure to various departments in the hospitality industry. Since its inception, the programme has helped hundreds of unattached youths and young adults.

Centre manager for the state-run facility, Paulette Heron, thanked the team for their continued commitment to the centre highlighting that over the years, "Sandals has helped to boost the self-esteem of many of the girls who attend the institution." She continued, "The girls were certainly empowered and I am sure they felt so good opening up, expressing their dreams, and inspired to keep on pushing."

Names changed