Team Antigua Island Girls has pledged EC$350,000 toward the construction of a multipurpose safe haven for girls. Minister of Social and Urban Transformation, the Hon. Rawdon Turner, met with the team and their manager at the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday,

The project, under discussion since 2019, 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,” the Minister remarked. “I can promise you that construction will start over the summer.”

Turner specifically praised Team Antigua Island Girls for its continued commitment to the initiative, noting that the team would be offered a proposed seat on the facility’s governing board.

“This is something to which they have been committed, something to which they’d like to be involved,” Mickel Brann-Challenger said, noting the team’s preference to remain engaged with the project beyond the initial donation, including developing wellness initiatives for the women.

Also in attendance were Director of Family and Social Services Fiona Charles Richards and Vaughn Skerrit, representing Government Information Services.

A Memorandum of Understanding formalizing the partnership between Team Antigua Island Girls and the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation is expected to be finalized next week.