Growing up exposed to an awareness of the importance of people and their community through parental lessons learnt in business and church volunteerism, it is no surprise that Kecia Taylor herself has been bitten by the volunteerism ‘bug’.

Taylor, the senior legal counsel at Cable & Wireless Jamaica (Flow) and secretary of the Flow Foundation, believes that while everyone has the ability to be their best self, not everyone has the circumstances to achieve that. This is at the heart of her drive to empower women and girls to succeed.

Armed with the belief that “Your circumstances do not define you”, Kecia is using her position as president of the Rotary Club of St Andrew North to champion the upliftment of women and girls in the society. The 2021-2022 Rotary International focus on Marginalized Women and Girls has allowed her the platform to do just that, as the fifth female president of the voluntary organisation, which up to 2011 comprised only male members.

Kecia’s attention is fixed on empowering women through the Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Ministry’s National Shelter for Victims of Gender-Based Violence.

She recently spearheaded a donation of furniture, clothing, children’s books, stove, tablets and laptops to the national family-based shelter for residents who are victims of domestic violence, to ensure continued online education, work counselling and rehabilitation.

The tablet and laptop donations were in partnership with the Flow Foundation, which will also facilitate training for the eligible beneficiaries under its digital education programmes and upgrade the internet speeds at the National Shelter facilities across the island.

Additionally, she led her Rotary Club’s project with the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) to among other things, provide sanitary products for young women who are financially challenged, to enable them to attend school and develop skills to create their economic independence.

Her message to women and girls: “Focus on your dream regardless of your circumstances and believe in yourself to make it happen. You can #BreakTheBias.”