Sewing lab opens at juvenile correctional centre to empower girls

The South Camp Juvenile Correctional & Remand Centre now boasts a sewing laboratory, which will equip incarcerated girls and young women with a marketable skill to support themselves and their families when they are reintegrated into society.

The facility was established through a $2.5-million grant from Digicel Foundation, which went towards refurbishing the space and purchasing sewing machines and tools.

State Minister in the Ministry of National Security and Peace, Hon Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, who addressed the recent opening of the space at the correctional centre's South Camp Road location in Kingston, said that the sewing lab will offer a new beginning or opportunity for redemption, growth, learning and building character.

"Skills training is one of the most powerful ways we can help young people rebuild their lives. This sewing lab will create opportunities for hands-on learning, entrepreneurship and personal development. Initiatives like this sewing lab demonstrate our commitment to building a correctional system that is not only secure but also rehabilitative and restorative," she noted.

She commended Digicel Foundation for the support.

"Today's ceremony is a reminder that meaningful change begins with investment in people. When we invest in rehabilitation, education and skills training, we invest in safer communities and a better future for our beloved country. I am confident that this sewing lab will become a space where creativity is nurtured, skills are developed and lives are redirected towards positive outcomes," the State Minister said.

She encouraged the young people to make good use of the opportunity to become future seamstresses, dressmakers, stylists and fashion designers.

She noted that by learning practical skills such as dressmaking or fashion designing, they will also develop discipline and patience and understand the value of hard work.

"To our young ladies here today, you are not defined by your mistakes, rather, you are individuals with potential, creativity and the ability to contribute meaningfully to society if given the right tools and guidance. Today's handover is about providing those tools," she said.

"I look forward to viewing your masterpieces and witnessing the success stories that come out of this investment into your future," she told them.

Cuthbert-Flynn also commended the members of the Ministry's We Transform Youth Empowerment Programme, which is the Ministry's flagship youth initiative geared at providing children under the care and supervision of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) with the requisite skillset, character and support to become productive exemplary citizens.

"Your efforts have a meaningful impact and are transforming the lives of each offender client within the juvenile centres across the island. Your contribution adds to our mandate to create a safe, secure and peaceful Jamaica,"Cuthbert-Flynn said.

For his part, Commissioner of Corrections, DCS, Brigadier (Ret'd) Radgh Mason, said through this facility, the incarcerated girls and young women will learn practical vocational skills, such as garment construction, tailoring and textile work, skills that can lead to employment, entrepreneurship and independence when they integrate into society.

"When we equip individuals with meaningful skills and opportunities, we do more than change individual lives. We strengthen families, communities and, ultimately, the security of our nation, and so this transformation is not just about transforming the DCS but also about transforming the society itself," Commissioner Mason said.

He noted that in corrections, rehabilitation is not an abstract concept; it is the daily work of teaching skills, building discipline, instilling confidence and patience, and unlocking potential.

- JIS

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