Joddiann’s Journey to Success

Getting pregnant at 13-years-old was the most devastating period of Joddian Howard’s life. However, seeking help to cope with this life-changing experience and overcoming the difficulties it brings, is what, the now 30-year-old is encouraging. Howard was attending a prominent high school in Westmoreland when she got pregnant. The thought of disappointing her grandmother with the news of birthing a baby while she was still a child, forced her into deep depression, and she kept her pregnancy a secret from her family and friends for eight months. “I remember like it was yesterday, the excitement at school when news got back that they saw me and my mother at the clinic and I looked pregnant,” she recalls. “I cried until I had no tears left. My face, eyes and lips were swollen, and my head was pounding,” she said with a chuckle. Miss Howard, who is now the Product Development Supervisor at Caribbean Flavours and Fragrances, explained that although she lived with her grandmother, her parents were not the type she could talk to. She advised that parental support is important, and parents should try and have a relationship with their children. “The type of parents I grew up with, especially Mom, was not somebody you’d want to tell something like that,” she explained. “When my mother heard that I was pregnant, she was very angry. My grandmother, with whom I lived, cried. She was deeply disappointed, but she was the voice of reason in the entire situation,” Joddiann remembered. [Photo to be inserted here] Joddiann Howard, at her graduation from UWI in 2016. Help From the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation Even though Howard received help from her extended family to navigate motherhood and her education, she is imploring young women who are in similar situations to seek help.

“Get help, because sometimes there are persons around us that can offer assistance, but we don’t know. For instance, if I had known about the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation in the initial stages, I would not have gone through that period of depression,” she disclosed. For Howard, the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation was her compass that helped her navigate the difficult period of balancing motherhood and her education. She said felt stuck and adrift, but the centre provided her with a plan. “I attended the Savanna-La-Mar Centre. We have guidance classes every day and the basic subjects like math and English taught to us by teachers from all over the parish. So, by the time you are ready to transition back into the public-school system, [Photo to be inserted here] Joddiann Howard pouring a drink while working at Caribbean Flavours you would not feel left behind.” After leaving the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation, Joddiann was reintegrated at Petersfield High School where she benefited from the Principal Scholarship Fund. She completed sixth form at Frome Technical High School with twelve subjects at the CXC and CAPE levels. Joddiann Howard was awarded the Scotia Foundation GEMS Award in 2015, and later graduated from the University of the West Indies in Pharmacology in 2016. Miss Howard has been working at Caribbean Flavours and Fragrances since January 2017. Her message to young women is to never be ashamed or think of themselves as disappointments. “Do not think of it as a disappointment, yes, it is not something right, you have made a mistake, (except for situations of rape or abuse). At the end of the day, you must understand that you are still children and must operate as such, no running around with your baby’s father,” she warned. Joddian Howard is a prime example of bouncing back and leading a successful career after being a teenage mother. The Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation is an entity of the Ministry of Culture Gender, Entertainment and Sport and is mandated to provide adolescent mothers with continued education during pregnancy. The National Policy, Reintegration of School-Aged Mothers into the Formal School System makes it mandatory for adolescent mothers to re-enter the secondary school system after pregnancy. The

Foundation has 18 locations island-wide, and to date, has helped more than 47,000 adolescent mothers.

Tests, Trials and Triumphs of a Teen Mother

Being pregnant at 15 years old is the toughest test Stacy Ann Subani had to overcome in her lifetime.

At four months pregnant, Stacy Ann had to watch her peers go school while she stayed home to nurture her growing stomach.

The once outgoing Christian youth activist said she became hopeless, disappointed and depressed. 

“When you get pregnant as a teenager, everyone expects you to stop going to school, have more children and live off the PATH Programme; I didn’t want to be that girl” she explained.

According to Stacy Ann, her chance to live above societal expectations came after she was enrolled in the Programme for Adolescent Mothers (PAM), at the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF).

“My family was very disappointed when they found out I was pregnant. I wanted to do an abortion but my mother said no, so for a while, I had no idea what I was going to do, but my aunt and older sister told me about the Women’s Centre and ensured that I got registered.”

A beaming Stacy Ann said that the Women’s Centre changed her life and credits the rounded instructions she got at the institution with her ability to rise above the stigma associated with teen pregnancy.

“Going back to regular school was extremely difficult. Students who knew that I was pregnant said a lot of mean things about me. But I remembered how the counsellor encouraged us not to see ourselves as victims but as victors who should use education to create opportunities for our children.”

“I also remembered several successful past students who came back (WCJF) and spoke about their experience as a teen mother. Whenever I felt like giving up, I’d remember that they have been in my position before and are now doing well” she shared.

Stacy Ann completed her tenure at the Women’s Centre and was placed at Jose Marti Technical High School. She graduated at age 19 with five grade ones, one grade two and two grade three at the CXC level.

She also completed two one-year professional courses at the University of the West Indies Open Campus which qualified her for matriculation to the University of West Indies, Mona Campus, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Library and Information Studies.

“It took me six years to do a four year course. But I wasn’t fazed by it. I worked part time & went to school part time while taking care of my daughter. It was a rough journey, but I learnt how to manage my time and work according to my goals”

At 27 years old, Stacy Ann is employed at the UWI Mona Campus at the Estate Management Department and intends to pursue a Master’s Degree in Marketing or Human Resource Management.

The WCJF is a 40 year old institution operating under the Ministry of Gender, Entertainment and Sport (MCGES), and has responsibility for providing continuing education for pregnant and parenting adolescents who are unable to attend classes in the formal school system. WCJF, while providing academic instructions to pregnant and parenting adolescents, also delivers counselling and personal development sessions to the young mothers. Additionally, through collaboration with the Ministry of Education Youth and Information, the WCJF is responsible for reintegrating the young mothers into the regular school programme after the birth of their babies