The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

IT HAS always been the mission of Inner Harmony to help young women reach their highest heights. Ever since the musical group started twelve years ago, it has created ways for young girls, especially those residing in the inner city, to metamorphosis from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

"Our primary focus at (the start) was to produce music. We released two singles. As we continued to meet, we began to talk about difficulties that we faced as girls with low self esteem, identity crisis, being single mothers, family crisis, being clueless to our destiny. In light of this we launched a conference for women called 'Women in Worship' in 2004 to assist women in the areas that we faced. We focused on five pillars: worship, wisdom, wellness, word and wealth," said Patrice Paul of Inner Harmony.

The group also held a "Developing Inward Beauty" seminar, which taught the young women to develop positive self image and character. This initiative gave birth to the Butterfly Club, a place for girls, which launched in October.

The Butterfly Club targets young girls between the ages 10-18. Girls from the Ranfurly Home for Children and the Bilney Lane Children's Home have also attended the club's meetings. During meetings the young women are taught developmental and life skills including positive self esteem, true beauty, sexual purity, abstinence hygiene, etiquette and wellness, entrepreneurship, money management and much more.

"Our mission is to mentor girls and young women through empowerment and transformation, recognising that each individual has hidden treasures, gifts and talents that are waiting to be discovered. We believe that if girls are exposed to those areas they would be able to see the potential inside of them at an early age and not be afraid to accomplish any goal or tasks. The impact will be far reaching for girls to grow through the process of change; so as to impact their families, community, country and the world," Ms Paul said.

Ms Paul said the Butter Fly Club also promotes a change of mind and individuality. "That is why we also focus on money management and entrepeunership as opposed to being the worker. We promote being the owner, freedom to live, to learn, to grow and to change."

In the near future the group hopes to launch a scholarship program.

To get the message of inner beauty across, Inner Harmony also published a magazine in 2009 to address these issues.

"Today, so much effort is placed on what women look like outwardly, we thought that producing literature promoting positive virtues would held in our quest for girls/women to develop intrinsic worth from the inside out instead of the other way around; which is so widespread," Ms Paul said.

"Developing Inwards Beauty" magazine is distributed to government and private schools, churches, civic groups. It has also been issued in England, America, Turks and Caicos Island and Nigeria.

Club meetings are held the last Saturday in each month at the Grant's Town Community Centre, Quackoo Street from 10.30 am - 12.45 pm.