A forum, suitably titled ‘Rural Girls Rock’, was hosted by the Bureau of Gender Affairs at the Portland-based College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in honour of International Day of Rural Women (IDRW) 2024. The event was held on Wednesday (October 16), inside the T.P Lecky Hall at the institution, under the theme ‘Empowering Rural Women: Achieving a Sustainable Future’.
Acting Director for the Community Liaison Unit at the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Nardia McLaren, reminded the young women that, “girls are change-makers, girls are trailblazers, and girls are responsible for changing a generation”. Ms. McLaren said that rural women are convincing and are able to, in Jamaican terms, “tun dem han and mek fashion”.
The day’s Empowerment Speaker was National Farm Queen 2024 and CASE student, Victoria Lynch, who made an impassioned appeal for rural girls to work hard and pursue their dreams. Using the acronym DREAM, Ms. Lynch listed the essential elements for achieving goals as Desire, Rising above challenges, Explore, Achieve and Motivate.
She also related her own journey of realising her dream of becoming the National Farm Queen. “The moment I was crowned National Farm Queen, I felt a great sense of achievement. It was a rewarding feeling stepping out of my comfort zone and doing well.
This is what achieving your goals is like,” Ms. Lynch said. Enthused faces were observed in the audience, including final-year Agricultural Education student, Sa.