Sister to Sister Mediathon

Females opening their arms and offering assistance to other females is the theme of ‘Sisters to Sisters’, an all female mediathon scheduled for Sunday April 13.

Launched at Women’s Centre Foundation of Jamaica Head Office on Thursday, March 7 the mediathon aims to assist in empowering females. Proceeds of the event will go towards building shelters for battered women across the island and also towards the Women’s Centre Foundation of Jamaica. The mediation recognizes International Women’s Day which is celebrated worldwide on March 8 under the theme ‘Financing for Gender Equality.’

The mediathon has an ambitious but attainable goal of ten million Jamaican dollars, in addition to the mandate of raising awareness of significant issues affecting women. To date a number of ‘sisters’ in the entertainment business have reached out in support of the event. Confirmed ‘sisters’ include: actress Leonie Forbes, veteran singer Marcia Griffiths, newcomer Etana, conscious deejay Queen Ifrica, dancehall diva Ce’cile, songstress Tessanne Chin, multi-talented Cherine Anderson, rising stars judge and singer Nadine Sutherland, dub poet Cherry Natural as well as the L’ Acadco dancers.

These independent and creative women will lend their talents to motivate women around the country to stand up for themselves and their rights while encouraging the broader audience to pledge funds towards the target. The mediathon will be staged at the studios of the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) and will be broadcast live on various television and radio stations. The programme for the April 13 event, which starts at 1 PM, will include a showcase of music, dance, poetry and more.

At the launch Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sport Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange noted that women had come a far way yet many still face the day to day trials of domestic and sexual abuse. She recognized that the government’s contribution alone is not enough, stating: “in order to effectively implement programmes and initiatives that will help to empower our women and girls, adequate human and financial resources will have to be secured. This highlights the need to carry out work to promote gender equality. It also points to the need for partnerships with other organizations and collaboration among various stakeholders to meet gender equality goals.”

The Minister closed by noting that one organization already on the ‘Sisters to Sisters’ initiative is Food for the Poor. Food for the Poor will assist in the work of the Women’s Centre Foundation of Jamaica as well as in the furnishing of the shelters for battered women. The initiative is confident that many more organizations will follow to assist in achieving the targets.