US Fraternity brothers deliver technology, mentorship, and a message of resilience to girls in State care

The Gamma Rho Sigma Alumni Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in collaboration with the Patricia V. Smith Foundation, recently donated several laptops to the Homestead Place of Safety in Stony Hill, St. Andrew and the Granville Place of Safety in Trelawny, as part of the Chapter’s Hurricane Melissa relief initiative and in keeping with the fraternity’s mantra of service. The gifts were presented recently by fraternity member Dr Ashenhiem Malcolm, Managing Director of Sweet P Home Care Inc. in the United States.

Dr Malcolm, a graduate of St. Jago High School in Spanish Town, delivered not only technology and educational access on his fraternity’s behalf, but also a powerful message of resilience to the girls in State care.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded in 1914 at Howard University, a leading Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in Washington, DC. Gamma Rho Sigma is the Fraternity’s alumni chapter, serving Queens and Long Island, New York.

A Message of Persistence and Possibility

Addressing the wards, Dr Malcolm and entrepreneur Dr Patricia V. Smith, offered words of encouragement to the young women, many of whom are survivors of abuse and exploitation.

“Please keep your hope alive,” Dr A. Malcolm said. “If you are interested in going to college, these laptops can assist you. This gift is a token of our appreciation for your efforts to rise above the challenges of your circumstances. Where you come from does not determine your future.”

He urged the girls to embrace determination as the key to success. “Life is hard, but you must work harder, because with effort, life can also be sweet. The important thing is to keep your faith and hope. You have to be determined to succeed. No one can simply inspire you to do so; you have to want to change the trajectory of your life and work towards it,” he noted.

Consistent with the fraternity’s mission, the Gamma Rho Sigma Chapter aims to provide services and resources to those impacted by various social and economic challenges. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Carla Mathis-Malcolm, a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Delta Beta Zeta chapter, an Occupational Therapist, and Professor at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, joined the delegation and offered to help guide the girls on how to access educational opportunities in the United States. Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta are constitutionally bound as brother and sister organisations.

“There are possibilities here, and we are here to help you access them through your education,” Dr Mathis-Malcolm stated.

Dreams Shared, Futures Imagined

During a question-and-answer session following the presentation, the girls spoke openly about their aspirations. Their goals included becoming marine biologists, lawyers, judges, physicians, chefs, professional athletes, cosmetologists, nurses, police officers, and soldiers, among others.

Dr A. Malcolm described the visit as “the beginning of a relationship we are prepared to continue,” expressing the Chapter’s readiness to provide additional support to aid in the hurricane recovery efforts. He also lauded the institution’s plans to repair and upgrade their computer rooms to facilitate online CSEC classes and examinations for the girls.

Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. was founded by three young African-American students who sought to organise a Greek-letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service. The Founders envisioned an organisation that viewed itself as “a part of” the general community rather than “apart from” it, believing that each member should be judged by his own merits, rather than his family background or affluence, without regard to race, nationality, skin tone, or texture of hair. They desired a fraternity that would exist within an even greater brotherhood devoted to the “inclusive we” rather than the “exclusive we,” particularly in the deeply racially divided American society of the time.

From its inception, the Founders also conceived of Phi Beta Sigma as a mechanism to deliver services to the community. Rather than reserving their acquired skills for themselves and their immediate families, they held a deep conviction that they should return those skills to the communities from which they had come, a conviction mirrored in the Fraternity’s motto, “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity.”