Journey Into Womanhood (JIW) members and parents have a greater appreciation for education, especially after viewing the documentary, "Africa's Daughters." Directed by, Natalie Halpern, it tells the story of two Ugandian girls, Hoctavia and Ruth, who dream of moving themselves and their families out of the hands of poverty. Education is the key to breaking the shackles of poverty. The heroines worked to defy the odds and challenged cultural traditions with the goal of completing high school. After a question and answer session with Halpern, JIW members put their thoughts on paper and wrote letters to the girls featured in the documentary to share how much the film impacted them.

 

The young ladies of JIW are on a journey to find the right college to prepare them for what the future holds. They recently visited Tallahassee, Florida to tour Florida A&M University and Florida State University. Upon setting their feet on Tallahassee's soil, they were greeted by Florida house representative district 14, Mia Jones. She encouraged JIW members to get involved in student government and politics while in school and college. In addition to Jones, students from both universities introduced the young ladies to college life such as student activities and college classrooms. JIW members were ecstatic when FAMU's dean of nursing provided a behind the scenes tour of its nursing program. "I am proud of these young ladies," said Elexia Coleman-Moss, founder and director of Empowerment Resources. "Instead of spending their day off from school with friends, they chose to research what various colleges have to offer."

My name is Erica, and I am a fulltime student in the nursing program at the University of North Florida (UNF). Last August, I was offered the opportunity to study abroad in Ghana, West Africa, for 18 days from May 7-28, as a part of the Ghana Project 2009. While there, I will be working in hospitals and learning the Ghanian's health care system and also traveling around Ghana to experience their culture. This journey was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Jaguars Foundation, who gave me a $3,000 scholarship and $1,500 scholarship from UNF. This trip is very important to me and I would have never gotten the opportunity to go to Africa, without the help I have received so far.