Windsor
Lodge
Since 1972, The Windsor Lodge Children's Home has been nurturing and
making a difference in the lives of thousands of children from all
across Jamaica. The mission of The Home is to provide for children
physically, spiritually and mentally. The children at The Home are
mostly from sexually or physically abusive homes that experience social,
behavioural as well as learning challenges. They are in desperate
need of love, care, protection and guidance. The Windsor Lodge Children's
Home provides all this and more and is a safe haven for all the children
at The Home.
The Windsor Lodge
Children's Home is located in Windsor Lodge residential area in Manchester.
The Home currently provides a safe home for sixty-one children, babies
to age eighteen years. However, the Home still provides maintenance
and care for those over eighteen until they have finished college
and is equipped sufficiently to leave the Home. We are currently assisting
one child, Andre Poyser, who is attending the University of the West
Indies, Mona. He is currently studying Media and Communication and
is in his second year of school.
The Home has three
major projects:
1. The Windsor
Baby Land
The Windsor
Baby Land opened its doors to abandoned and orphaned babies on June
25, 2010. The mission of the Baby Land is to care for and give hope
with the Love of God to the hopeless, abandoned and destitute babies.
The Baby Land currently has fourteen babies and hopefully we will
be able to expand and get even more babies. The Baby Land cares
for babies from the age of 1 day old upwards to 4 years of age.
They are many abandoned and orphaned babies in Jamaica. We are dedicated
to providing these children the love, security, medical care and
education they need. We provide them with a Home.
The Baby Land
is currently the most expensive project of the Windsor Lodge Children's
Home as diapers and other baby supplies have to be bought on a regular
basis.
2. After
School Programme
The children
brought to the home face learning challenges because of various
reasons and is unable to keep up with other children their age in
normal public school. The after school programme provides the children
with the individual attention that they need in terms of Mathematics,
English and Information Technology.
3. Home Exit
Programme
The Home Exit
Programme is a programme which helps the teenagers of the Home prepare
for when they leave the Home (There are currently 16 teenagers at
the Home). At the age of eighteen, the government/Child Development
Agency is no longer responsible for them. Therefore, the Home finds
it necessary to equips them with the necessary tools that will help
them to be succesful when they do leave.
The "exit"
programme incorporates different aspects, such as
- Each child
has their own room and bathroom, which allows them to be cultured
to somewhat living on their own
- The after-school
programme
- The Home
has implemented its own skills training programme will provide
the teenagers with skills that will complement their high school
education and provide them with a more practical side of learning.
The programme offers courses in Information Technology, Cooking
and Cosmetology so as to teach a skill, which will increase the
likelihood of them getting a job when they leave the Home. This
programme will give them more options when they enter the workforce.
They can use these skills as a means of making a living or pursue
it as a hobby in the long run. The skills training center began
in 2008, however the cosmetology was added September 2011. We
have partnered with Heart Trust NTA so that upon completion of
the programme, the teenagers will receive proper certification.
