Portland ‘Girls Becoming’ their best through mentorship
by Paul H. Williams/Gleaner Writer · The GleanerIngrid Stewart Boivin grew up in Drapers, Portland, attended Titchfield High School in Port Antonio and later Shortwood Teachers’ College in St Andrew. After migrating, she returned to Jamaica regularly with her children.
Each visit, she said, revealed how much had changed. “When I was growing up, I felt totally and completely safe in my neighbourhood because I felt like everybody in my district had my best interest at heart. On coming back on frequent trips, I realised that the way I grew up was swiftly disappearing, and there were a lot of things happening in our culture that nobody talked about.”
Her response to that change emerged during the introspective months of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I wanted to give something back to the place that made me the person I am today,” she said. “I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like, but during COVID, when we all had time to think, I decided I wanted to come back to Jamaica to start something with the girls in my community.”
That idea became Girls Becoming, a mentoring programme launched in 2020. Its first orientation took place in December of that year in Fairy Hill, Portland. The initiative now supports 15 to 20 girls, with plans to add a further 12 mentees in September.
Girls Becoming aims to “empower girls through mentorship and opportunity”. Its core objectives include building confidence, leadership skills and a positive sense of identity; offering structured life-skills training; providing emotional support and academic guidance; exposing participants to career pathways; and helping girls at risk socially, emotionally or economically to make informed, healthy choices.
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The programme is sustained by a small team of volunteers — educators, community professionals, guest speakers and its founder herself. Stewart Boivin, now based in Jamaica, brings professional experience in the non-profit sector, training and development, and sales and marketing. She remains closely involved in planning, mentoring and strategy.
TANGIBLE EFFECTS
For the girls, the effects are tangible. “Participating in Girls Becoming has been a significant journey,” said mentee Na’Zyia Berry. She described a circle of peers who “motivate and uplift one another”, and mentors spanning a range of careers, including a geologist — “which opened my eyes to opportunities I had never thought of before”.
The programme also incorporates “enjoyable and calming activities like yoga”, helping the girls to manage stress, as well as educational trips such as a visit to Kingston’s Bob Marley Museum. “These experiences have expanded my knowledge, boosted my confidence, and broadened my outlook on the future,” she said. “Girls Becoming has contributed to my growth on mental, social, and emotional levels.”
Another participant, Orincia Thompson, echoed the sentiment. “As a member of the Girls Becoming programme, I have gained valuable knowledge about different issues, opportunities, and places that can positively impact our lives,” she said. The initiative, she added, has sharpened her critical thinking, improved her decision-making and taught her to carry herself “in a proper and confident manner”. It encourages goal-setting and personal development within a “safe and supportive environment where girls can learn, share, and grow together”, helping them to become “responsible, motivated, and successful individuals” able to contribute to their communities and to Jamaica as a whole.
For now, the programme relies largely on personal donations, community goodwill and volunteer labour. It has no formal corporate sponsor. To help sustain GB’s activities, Stewart Boivin opened a small café and vintage shop — Ghong’s Place — in Zion Hill. “We opened that shop to help with some funding for the programme,” she explained. “The programme is five years old; the shop is two years old. So if you ever want to come by to support what we do, please come by.”
Mentorship, she noted, is most needed in emotional wellness, self-esteem, academic support, career readiness and life-skills development—areas that matter deeply for girls facing social pressure, grief, family instability or limited economic prospects.