Jean
Lowrie-Chin | Jamaica Observer column – MON 28 July 2014
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| JFW President Gloria Millwood |
It is a myth that Jamaican women do
not support each other - Jamaica is blessed in her brave and compassionate sisters
who have empowered not only women but all members of their national family. The
Jamaica Federation of Women (JFW) emerged out of a history of strong leaders like
National Heroine Nanny of the Maroons, Mary Seacole, who was an angel of mercy
to soldiers in the Crimean War of the mid-19th century, and Jessie
Ripoll, founder of Alpha in 1880.
What a
charge it gave us to share a morning with the JFW membership from all walks of
life as they announced their 70th Anniversary celebrations earlier
this month. Did you know it was the JFW that hired a bright young Jamaican to
promote our cultural heritage islandwide, more than half century ago? They
later obtained a scholarship for her to study speech and drama in England. That young woman was none other than the Hon.
Louise Bennett-Coverley!
President Gloria Millwood declared
to her JFW members, “Ladies, we are determined to recapture the glory days. Through
the determination and hard work of persons like Mrs Cecile Jarrett, Mrs Dotsie
Gordon, Mrs Elaine Dreyer, Mrs Grace McKoy and many more, the Federation is
being revitalized.” The President grieved over “the dastardly acts inflicted on
our children” and pleaded: “We must return to the nurturing of our precious
ones – it is up to us to know what is happening to them at all times.”
Gloria
Millwood is an active member of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Lay Magistrates Associations. She runs Leon’s Beauty Products and Leon’s
Beauty School founded in 1944 by her legendary mother, Madame Rose Leon. The school has produced thousands of graduates,
builders of the multi-billion beauty industry in Jamaica.
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| JFW Chair Cecile Jarrett |
Cecile
Jarrett, JFW Chair, is Principal of the St John the Baptist School, and a
published poet who runs a Foundation with her husband Norman to promote
literacy in primary schools in Downtown Kingston. Mrs. Dotsie Gordon, Vice-Chair is founder of the
decades-old DOT Personnel Limited. She was recently appointed Area President of
their regional partner, Associated Country Women of the World for the
Caribbean, Central and South America.
This organization represents nine million women through its 450 Member
Societies in over 70 countries and has consultative status at the United
Nations.
They are
walking in the footsteps of such JFW trailblazers as Amy Bailey, May
Farquharson and Aggie Bernard. These elder sisters of the Jamaica Federation of
Women have been the backbone of our country.
Take for example, Mrs Josephine Lowe now 94 years old, former head of
the Pembroke Hall Branch. She ran numerous
fundraisers which saw the community gathering at her home for evenings of food,
love and laughter. To this day, if you
want the latest cricket scores, you can count on her for them! (Her best friend, my dear mother Maisie
Lowrie, ensured we took multiple tickets - Mom entered JFW competitions and
accumulated many prizes for her cakes.)
The JFW
has made their mark on Jamaica’s development, recognizing the importance of
early childhood education and creating infant schools through partnerships with
various churches in the 1960s. Declaring that a strong family unit was essential
for a successful society, they sought to create stability in family life by
hosting mass weddings, happily embraced by couples who had been living in
common-law unions for years. They started housecraft training centres and
encouraged the development of the National Consumers’ League, now headed by one
of their ardent leaders, the indefatigable Joyce Campbell.
To
promote employment, currently the JFW is training women in personal
development, and the packaging and marketing of products. They have been conducting ‘Darkness to Light’
courses, which help women to understand and prevent child abuse. They are also partnering with NEPA for an ‘Impact
of Climate Change on Families’ programme to address environmental concerns.
Like
the women it serves, the Federation is rising above myriad challenges,
re-opening branches in St. Elizabeth in 2012 and in St. Mary earlier this year. While offering a GSAT scholarship
for the child of a branch member with the highest average, the JFW has created
the Rural Woman of the Year Award and the Volunteer of the Year Award for
Executive Members and continues to be a signatory to the Heritage Clubs of Jamaica.
The 70 years of existence of the
Jamaica Federation of Women is testimony of their courage and amazing
generosity – they are all volunteers. As organisations like the Jamaica Women’s
Political Caucus, WMW Jamaica, Women’s Leadership Initiative and Women Business
Owners, celebrate our success in politics, business and the professions, we acknowledge
with gratitude the foundation built for us by the JFW. Our women’s organisations should find ways of
honouring them in this their 70th year – on their shoulders we
stand.
