BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE West Indies women’s cricket team has spent a majority of their time in St. Kitts focusing on the cricket pitch, but two players took time out on Tuesday (May 4) to share with the young mothers of Project Viola.
Project Viola is an initiative started in 1997 by the Department of Gender Affairs to assist teenage mothers complete their educations. Prior to 1997, school girls who became pregnant would only be allowed back into school at the discretion of the principal.
During Tuesday’s meeting with West Indies stars Stafanie Taylor and Stacy-Ann King, the young women of Project Viola shared their experiences of becoming teenage mothers and subsequently turning their lives around thanks to the initiative.
Project Viola President Clauja Bradshaw told Taylor and King of the desperation and denial she experienced when she first discovered she was pregnant at the age of 16. However, through Project Viola Bradshaw was able to complete her education at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and scored the highest in CAPE Law.
Now 23-years-old, Bradshaw spends much of her time at the Basseterre High Court learning about the judiciary as she hopes to one day become a lawyer. She also occupies the position of General-Secretary in the St. Kitts National Youth Parliament Association and has gone on to assist many girls who became pregnant at a young age.
Speaking to SKNVibes, the visiting cricketers said speaking to the girls had a great impression on them.
“It is new to me, knowing that I’ve never been through all of that. I have younger sisters back home and I know that I can pass on what they have told me to them.
“I’m really happy today that I’ve come here. To hear what all of these young girls have been through with the pregnancy and afterward, I think it is really nice,” Taylor said.
She added that she learned a great deal from the young women about the challenges of motherhood and how having a child can change one’s life dramatically.
King was also thankful for the visit, stating that she enjoyed learning about youth pregnancy and explaining the challenges she has endured to play cricket for the West Indies.
“In terms of speaking to them, we can relate because it’s like the same issues that they have in their lives, we have had those challenges and some of us have overcome it to be where we are. Relating to them is pretty cool. It’s kind of level for us.”
The 26-year-old said that she planned to carry her experience with Project Viola back to her home country of Trinidad & Tobago where similar issues of teenage mothers continuing their education after pregnancy persist.
“I think they are going to have a lot of the same issues. Anywhere in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world you turn you may have the same situations, so whether it is my country or some other I am going to go out there and try to help,” King said.
For the young mothers, Project Coordinator and Acting Director of Gender Affairs Celia Christopher said that the exchange inspired them to continue with their dreams and not view having a child as an end to their ambitions.
“It boosts their self-esteem. When I listened to them talk around the table, I got the sense that they now believe they can be and do whatever they want. I always try to inculcate in them a positive attitude. They will tell you that I don’t like to hear them use the word can’t,” she told SKNVibes.
While the project is well rooted in St. Kitts thanks to international funding, government support and private sector sponsorship from companies such as S. L. Horsford’s, the involvement of the West Indies cricket teams is a relatively new initiative that began in 2007 with the men’s team during the World Cup.
Christopher said she hopes that such exchanges continue in the future as Project Viola grows and reaches out to girls in Nevis and even young ladies at risk of getting pregnant.
