Upton Gardens Girls Centre - The Future - No Future?

The Good News  website is: www.goodnewswi.com.  It has lots of information about the organization, including a brief history.  To make it very brief, our first trip to St. Lucia was in 1983, when Peg and I traveled with three musician friends to do choir workshops in about 10 villages.  We began building on the next trip, in 1985, and have built houses every year since – more than 300 now, with most of them in St. Lucia.  Others are in St. Vincent, Dominica, Grenada and Union Island.

 We have sent volunteers to Upton Gardens Girls’ Centre for about 20 years, and Prisca St. Paul has become a personal friend.  We admire her dedication and spirit of mission about the work of the school for young girls in difficult circumstances.  She has developed a small faculty of women equally dedicated to the welfare of the girls.  I have never met a person who did not agree that the school should be a 24/7 source of protection and guidance for these girls.  In spite of the best efforts of Prisca and her Board, government has not responded to the need for additional resources to operate a fully functional program.

As you know so well, RCGI became active in supporting the construction of a 4 room dormitory in 2013.  Although we thought we had the support of the Prime Minister’s office at the time, no funding was available when the time came to open the dormitory and create a small residential program.  As a result, the dormitory never served that purpose, and is now being used as a counseling centre.  We sought funding from Rotary Clubs in Wisconsin for a larger building on the UGGC property, but canceled that effort when St. Lucian government support was not offered.

Now, I am trying to initiate a fresh community conversation about the mission of Upton Gardens here in St. Lucia.  People directly involved with the Centre as staff members, Board members, parents of students and volunteers all understand the need for it to become a residential institution similar to the Boys Training Centre.  But, people who are not as directly involved with the Girls’ Centre need to learn about it before they will become vocal in their support for it.  Experience has shown that government will probably not respond to the needs of the Girls’ Centre until there is evidence of broad public support for it. 

The term, “women’s brotherhood” was coined by one of my medical partners to express the importance of retaining the support of our primarily female Eye Clinic staff.  It implies a certain degree of militancy that women can develop in support of a cause, if they feel they are not being treated with respect.  Women can be a great force for good in a family, a school, a business – even in a country.  When they put their heads together, they can develop a voice that husbands, business leaders and politicians find very difficult to ignore.

My hope is that we can stimulate a broad community conversation about Upton Gardens Girls’ Centre, beginning with a conversation among a group of influential women in the community – women who know and support the mission of the Girls’ Centre, and agree that it should be a residential facility for girls in need of care and protection.  Women in the various service clubs in St. Lucia, and women in the new, “One Hundred Women for Good” organization, could serve as a good audience to enlarge the conversation.  When the needs of Upton Gardens become better known, other funding sources may come forward with support that would decrease the burden on government.  We have seen a similar process take place in our hometown of Wausau, Wisconsin with a very successful outcome.

I appreciate your personal encouragement and support and that of the Rotary Club of Gros Islet.  I thank you, and the hundreds of Good News volunteers who share my concern for Upton Gardens also thank you.