Teen girls depart tough inner-city community on US basketball scholarships

Tahjera Forbes of The Queen’s School and Haile Selassie High’s Leka Reid will commence a new chapter in their life after their prodigious talents were enough to convinced scouts in attendance at the Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) Star Search Basketball Camp hosted in the summer at GC Foster College.

They will continue their education and basketball development at the North Florida Educational Institute in the USA, which undoubtedly represent the start of a life-changing experience they could only dream about months ago.

Both girls are among four participants from the Southern Basketball Conference Life Skill and Basketball programme in the tough garrison community of Majesty Gardens who were offered scholarships.

The others, Fabian Kennedy of Camperdown High School, left the island two weeks ago to commence his tenure, while 15 years old Jennell Houston of Haile Selassie High is scheduled to depart later this month.

Funding for both girls’ traveling expenses, is sponsored by the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ), said Calvin Martin, founder and head of the Life Skill and Basketball programme in Majesty Gardens, popularly known as ‘Bakto’ in southwest St Andrew.

Reid, 16, says she intends to make full use of the opportunity.

“I am happy to have been offered this opportunity to attend the North Florida Educational Institute in the USA to pursue my education and to develop my basketball skills,” she said. “I intend to do my best to make my parents and community proud and to pursue whatever opportunities come in the future.”

Reid, a resident of Majesty Gardens, added: “I want to thank the American Friends of Jamaica for supporting basketball in our community over the past years, this has helped me to develop my competitive skills in basketball as my school does not have a basketball programme.”

It is one of the most satisfying feelings for Martin, who has become a father-figure and mentor in the lives of not only these girls, but all the inner-city youth in the basketball progamme in Majesty Gardens.

“I hope they make use of the opportunity to improve their lives,” he told Old Harbour News, “and ultimately their family economic situation in the future.  I Hope them realize the responsibility they have to do their best, be disciplined so that others in the community can be inspired”.