Commissioner responsible for Gender Affairs Sarah Wescot-Williams, will be launching the ‘Strong Women’ Organization on March 11 as part of International Women’s Day celebrations.
The Strong Women organization is a celebration of women for the inner and outer strength they possess. It recognizes the strength women give to each other, their families and their communities.
The organization is being formed based on a pledge the Commissioner made at the network meeting of Strong Women in the Kingdom, held in Almere, Netherlands in 2008. At that time Commissioner Wescot was recognized as one of the strong women of the Kingdom and she introduced the idea of setting up a Strong Women organization, a female network in St. Maarten.
The soon to be launched ‘Strong Women’ organization in St Maarten is based on the belief that by working together women can change the world. The Strong Women organization is a platform where women can work together to raise young girls to be the strong women of tomorrow.
"Its mission is to empower girls to believe in themselves and reach their full potential, to be Strong, Smart, and Bold. The ‘Strong Women’ organization will expose young girls to key women in government and the community; successful women who are leaders in a range of areas, such as politics, business, banking, education, law, etc.
"It will provide inventive programs by highlighting female role models, introducing mentoring relationships, and organizing skill building activities to girls to build positive self-esteem and skills for life-long success.
"Strong Women will use the lessons learned from strong women within the community to encourage young girls to become strong women themselves. ‘Strong’ indicates having career achievement as well as moral or intellectual power.
"It is expected that the organization will lead to a greater sense of empathy and caring for others, better relationships with family and community, and greater sense of responsibility for the society and the world in general," Commissioner of Gender Affairs Sarah Wescot-Williams told the Government Information Service (GIS).