Clarendon College

By: Shawna Kay Williams

While many of our young people have resorted to a life of delinquency or have allowed their lives to become encumbered by the harsh social and economic difficulties abounding, one young lady from the rustic footings of Cave Valley St Ann has chosen another route.

      Being single-handedly raised by her mother Mauvalyn Marie Campbell, 19 year old Teisha Vaughn, an upper sixth form science student at Clarendon College, has never yielded to the daunting forces of hopelessness. In fact she, along with other members of her community, has been volunteering their time and efforts to the revamping of the once dormant Cave Valley community. With a creatively conceptualized scope of ideas, they have been eroding the dark times and igniting a renewed surge of light and excitement.

      She credits her deep sense of volunteerism to her mother who she emulates and loves dearly.  “I love mommy dearly. She is the strongest and most hardworking woman I know,” she declared, almost tearful with emotions.

      Recently with a concerted community effort they staged the inaugural Miss Cave Valley pageant show, which objectively helped to unearth the young community talents, through a creative and spirited ensemble.

       While Teisha refuses to be solely credited for the success of the talent show, she remarks on her personal desire to insurrect far-reaching and unifying community energy.

      “The competition was launched as a means of bringing back some “life” to our community and to simultaneously attract the interest of community members to the Cave Valley Youth Club. I also wanted to expose and capitalize on the remarkable talent and confidence of the young ladies in the community,” she proudly stated in a recent interview at the school.

      Like every production, the preparation process can be hectic and many times daunting but Teisha explained that the fervent support of the members of the Cave Valley Youth Club was unstinting and as a result the show could get on the road within 4 weeks of careful planning.

      “It (putting on the pageant show) was harder than we perceived. Initially, we thought that it would have been easy to get the young ladies in the community interested in competing but that proved rather difficult. Getting sponsorship for the show was another difficulty but in the end, with the combined effort of the club members, the event was a success.”

      She also listed several community business entities that provided sponsorship for the pageant. Some of these were the Cave Valley Wholesale and Liquor Store, H&M Cash and Carry and the B&B Variety Store, which though hesitant at first pulled through generously in the end.

      Although many criticized the attempts of the show, there were still many community members who expressed deep pleasure and satisfaction with its efforts. “The community members were very excited! The show was well-received with some amount of verve and after the show people kept querying about future shows,” she continued, beaming with a smile.

      With the pageant show at its conclusion for 2008, Teisha’s work towards community development is far from going on an interlude. She has still been hosting regular youth meetings and is currently working with a community nurse on a HIV/Sex Education Sensitization Campaign, which is to be launched shortly. “Well we are currently working with a nurse in a neighbouring community in conducting a HIV/AIDs sensitization campaign to debunk any myths as it regards to these sexual phenomena. This would begin next February.”

      While the support and boost are not always present during the pursuit of these activities, Teisha Vaughn is still riding the ebbing tidal waves and encourages other youth in their community to follow suit.“Don’t take anything for granted when planning any event. Trust me nothing is trivial. Be persistent and be confident that the event will be a success and believe me it will. Remember there is no room for diffidence.”

      While Teisha may seem consumed with various community projects, she still manages to strike the balance with her social and academic life. With already 3 distinctions and a credit in the 2008 sitting of the Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE), this inspiring young lady hopes to attend the University of Technology this September, to pursue her dreams of becoming a pediatrician and later open a bakery of her own as she enjoys baking.

      Her passion for pediatrics also stems from her love for children. She explained her deep pain and anger at the recent upsurge of violence against our children, vehemently lamenting “I am hurt. Many times I just break down in tears. The cruelty against our children is just unimaginable.” She therefore strongly recommends the adoption of the American child protection system, where most children are sent to the closet school and are brought to and from school by designated buses.

      As she continues to pursue her goals and realize greater leadership ambitions, the Violence Prevention Alliance wish for her all the very best. Kudos for a work well done!