Hello dear audience! This is Jacqui, writer and researcher of “Under the Sycamore Tree.” Here are our show notes for our Episode 4: “The Kids May (Not) Be Okay.” 

Possible triggers in this episode include suicidal ideation, child abuse, child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, HIV+/AIDS, and teenage pregnancies. The organizers and organizations featured in this episode are:

• Dr. Hazel da Breo, Founder and Executive Director of Sweet Water Foundation Research and Treatment Institute (Grenada. Sweet Water Foundation: Research and Treatment Institute is the only organization in the Caribbean which is focused upon research and treatment planning for women, girls, trans people, and other marginalized groups who have suffered from sexual violence from the time of early childhood. Founded in 2008, the organization conducts research, publishes findings, designs and implements trainings (thus building individual, community and institutional capacity), and provides specific psychotherapeutic care for both victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse. Visit Sweetwater Foundation online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter @SweetWaterIntl; and IG @MySistersKeeper_SWF / @UnderFive_SWF. 

• Chelsea Foster, Founder and Executive Director of Girls of a Feather (St. Lucia). Girls of a Feather is an organization founded in 2014 to provide educational opportunities and mentorship to adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 18 in Saint Lucia. It was established in response to a recognition of the lack of opportunities for young girls to receive mentorship from older female professionals and an interest in raising awareness and advocating for the rights of adolescent girls. The organization focuses on five main pillars, which include education, leadership, relationship building, self-esteem and health. Their focus is to tackle social issues such as gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health. Visit Girls of a Feather online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter @SLUFeathers; IG: @girlsofafeatherslu; and LinkedIn. 

• Joy Crawford, Co-Founder and Director of Programmes and Training, for Eve for Life (Jamaica). EVE for Life is an organization founded in 2008 that provides support to adolescent girls and young women who are survivors of physical and sexual abuse; and to women and children living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. The organization’s work is grounded on extensive research which informs their advocacy and service delivery to address the needs of their beneficiaries. Their mission is to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights and quality of life of young women and girls exposed to HIV and sexual and gender-based violence. Visit Eve for Life online via their Website; their Equality Fund webpage; their Facebook page; Twitter: @EveforLife; and IG: @eveforlife_jamaica. 

Our Producer, Dave-Ann, interviewed Dr. da Breo, Chelsea, and Joy in late 2021. We sealed this episode with audio from one of Colin Robinson’s final interview in this plane: Sex & Gender Justice in Trinidad and Tobago with Colin Robinson, Interview with Abby Charles, CaribNationTV. 

I hope you connect with these texts and enjoy the episode even further! Sincerely, 

Jacks.