SUFJ, partners empower 35 female VDAs via cosmetology course, counselling
Published:Saturday | January 25, 2025 | 4:17 AM
Thirty-five female victims of domestic abuse (VDAs) in St Thomas and Portland have received level-two certificates in cosmetology under a gender-based initiative spearheaded by Stand-Up for Jamaica (SUFJ).
The newly empowered women – 19 from St Thomas and 16 from Portland – benefited from an eight-month course and counselling sessions which started in April under SUFJ’s partnership with HEART/NSTA Trust and the German Embassy, which sponsored the programme.
The newly skilled beauticians collected their certificates and care packages with tools to help them in their new jobs during a graduation ceremony on Thursday at Whispering Bamboo Cove Resort in Morant Bay, St Thomas.
The project was aimed at empowering women by equipping them with a professional skill to help them become independent, and sensitising them about domestic abuse.
‘Teach them to become independent’
SUFJ Executive Director Carla Gullotta said, “These young ladies went through a number of problems and so the idea behind this project was to teach them to become independent. Many of them are forced to stay in abusive relationships because they don’t have financial support.”
With this skill, Gullotta said it was hoped that the ladies will excel as professionals in the beauty industry and will also use the entrepreneurial lessons that were also taught to manage their businesses and improve their circumstances.
“We are determined to continue and we are extremely happy for the partnership with the German Embassy, which is not only a donor but a partner sharing the same vision of emancipation, independence, pride and mutual respect between a man and a woman,” added the human rights advocate.
German Ambassador Jan Hendrik van Thiel, for his part, said, “I am very happy that the German Embassy was associated with this wonderful programme with HEART Trust and SUFJ which gives young ladies a fresh start, for being self-reliant, living proud, showing their strengths and developing their skills.”