Morant Bay

The Morant Bay Women’s Centre is located in the heart of Morant Bay, St. Thomas. Its current location was the site of the first post office and the first National Insurance (NIS) office in the parish. The Centre was established in 1993 with four staff members and eight teen mothers. It was later renovated to facilitate an office, classroom, canteen, and nursery.
The Centre became a Centre in 2019, becoming one of the ten main centers across the island. Our current cohort is comprised of girls between ages of fourteen and eighteen. Driven by a commitment to support, empower and give teen mothers a second chance, our program offerings have expanded and included targeted programs/courses that cater to their holistic development, thus providing an opportunity for them to become self-sufficient.
Some of these courses include:
Mathematics, English Language, Information and Communication Technology, Principles of Business, Civics and Social Studies, Integrated Studies, Integrated Science, and Cosmetology. Teen mothers also engage in Individual and Group Counselling, Health and Family Life Education, and parenting education. Teen mothers can take their babies to the Centre’s daycare while they attend classes.
The Centre proudly served approximately four hundred and eighty-six (486) teen mothers across the parish and other adjoining parishes. Approximately four hundred and sixty (460) teen mothers have successfully reintegrated into the formal school system. Some of our teen mothers have completed tertiary institutions and contribute to nation-building. Past students have taken up top positions in banks, schools, hospitals, and other private institutions.
The Centre collaborates with several agencies and ministries in the parish. Schools, hospitals, Victim Support Unit, and CISOCA remain some of our valued partners, having understood our purpose throughout the years and the meaningful impact the Morant Bay Women’s Centre has made women still in the parish and, more specifically, in the lives of our teen mothers.