Grants young Bishop’s student five-year scholarship

AT A time when young women, now more than ever, need role models to help them navigate the oftentimes complicated challenges of life, Guyanese entrepreneur and proprietor of Pieces and Things boutique, Ashaka King has ventured out to launch ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, a charitable organisation aimed at mentoring young girls and providing empowerment and support to vulnerable groups in society.

As a first venture for ‘My Sister’s Keeper’, King launched a Scholarship Programme which will see young female students receiving sponsorship at the beginning of every term for five years (the entirety of their high school life). Kijana James, who recently wrote the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and gained entry to The Bishop’s High School, is the first recipient of the scholarship. James and her mother Karlene Barrow were, on August 30, presented with a Bursary Award of $40,000, a backpack and a gift voucher from Metro Stationery and Computer Supplies. James, who hails from Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice) will be expected to maintain a minimum of 70 percent in her performance in order to receive the bursary for the new school term.

The girl’s mother explained that the scholarship will be a great help financially, especially since transportation for her daughter alone will be a hefty sum every month, given that she will be required to travel from Linden to Georgetown daily to get to school.

“I am thankful to God for her being chosen because it will be a great help. Having to find $20,000 a month for transportation alone when the month comes is nothing easy and that is just one aspect. There are still other things to be done. I wish that Pieces and Things will be blessed not because they supported my daughter but because they are indeed doing their part in terms of giving back,” Barrow said. “So I pray that this business will continue to succeed and that the lord will continue to bless Miss King that she will keep doing what she has to do to play her small part in society.”

Speaking with the Pepperpot Magazine, King explained that this is just the beginning for ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ and that she has lots more in store. In fact, she explained that the launch of the organisation was a long time in the making- it just took some courage to get started.

“About two years ago I was speaking with a friend upon realising the reach that Pieces and Things has and coupled with that reach there is a personal touch and a story behind it, so we also have some amount of influence and I wanted to do something with that influence. So more than just launching a charity, I decided to embark on a mission called ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ and sponsoring this student is the first project of the charity. I wanted to do something that was long lasting; I wanted impact for the organisation,” she said.

She explained that despite naysayers, it was the words of motivation from persons close to her that really made her feel worthy enough to be in a position to help others. Among those motivators was Avia Lindie of Metro Stationery and Computer Supplies, who- after also hearing about King’s intention to sponsor a student- pledged support on behalf of Metro to also donate stationery.

“I had so many women who volunteered to be mentors of these little girls so now that we have started we have so many things already lined up; so many plans for projects within the very near future. This particular venture we only provided funding for one child and next year if we could get more that would be awesome,” Kings aid.

Among the planned ventures include bringing awareness to mental health, clothing drives and other initiatives aimed at helping women and girls. King expressed her strong belief that it is important to empower young girls due to the double standards in society.
“As a young woman, you are held at these ridiculous standards where your mistakes are held against you and when it comes to your future endeavours and dreams, there is a limit or cap put on them. You are told that you must be bold but when you are bold you come across as abrasive. It is just a level of double standard that puts a pressure on who we are when it comes to our development as young women,” she said. “So empowering young girls comes from real women sharing their real stories because we have been taught to hide our blunders and when you get to a certain level everyone feels as though it was a peachy walk. And we turn around as older women and seemingly look down on young girls, and I believe if we can be more open with who we are and more truthful on how we got to where we are despite going through the same struggles, then I think young girls will feel more comfortable and with that burden of self-doubt and constraint being lifted, to know that you can make mistakes and still carry on. I think that will carry our girls even further than we are today.”

King said that she feels honoured to be in a position where she can pledge funding to a young girl over the next five years. She stated that she will ensure that she puts things in place so that the scholarship can be honoured even if the unforeseen occurs.
“It is a special feeling to give back firmly. More than just giving money or a bursary I will be involved, with this parent’s permission, in this child’s life and that’s what My Sisters Keeper is all about,” she said.

King explained that it is thanks to strong women in her own life that have made her feel that she can pledge such support in the lives of other young women and she expressed the hope that in some little way, this will be able to make an impact.