Team Antigua Island Girls has pledged EC$350,000 toward the construction of a multipurpose safe haven for girls, with Minister of Social and Urban Transformation Hon. Rawdon Turner confirming that construction will begin this summer.
Minister Turner met with the team and their manager at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday to advance the project, which has been under discussion since 2019. The facility will house girls in conflict with the law alongside other vulnerable groups, including survivors of gender-based violence, under a single administrative structure with separate housing blocks.
"What we are trying to do is a multipurpose facility, so it is not [vulnerable] girls alone; what the vision is to have one central administrative unit with different branches that are isolated for girls in conflict, victim protection and others," Turner said. "I can promise you that construction will start over the summer."
The Minister praised Team Antigua Island Girls for their sustained commitment to the initiative. As recognition of that commitment, the team will be offered a proposed seat on the facility's governing board.
Team manager Mickel Brann-Challenger confirmed the team's desire to remain engaged with the project well beyond the initial donation, including the development of wellness initiatives for the women housed at the facility. "This is something to which they have been committed, something to which they'd like to be involved," Brann-Challenger said.
Director of Family and Social Services Fiona Charles Richards and Vaughn Skerrit, representing Government Information Services, were also in attendance at Wednesday's meeting.
A Memorandum of Understanding formalizing the partnership between Team Antigua Island Girls and the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation is expected to be signed next week.
