AboutUs

The FREDA Foundation, formerly The Chance Foundation, started in 1993 as an initiative of the youth of the Somerton Seventh-Day Adventist Church. This informal charity organization provided school supplies and financial assistance to students in the Somerton community who were transitioning from secondary to tertiary education. After a period of dormancy, the foundation was revived by two of the original founders, Sederick and Carlene Dawkins, who started sponsoring a yearly back-to-school giveaway. Over the years, the original charter of the foundation evolved and, in addition to school supplies, the foundation started disbursing scholarships, as well.

In 2020, Sederick and Carlene moved to formalize the operations of the foundation by appointing a board of directors and registering the foundation as a charity organization. During this formalization process, the foundation was also renamed The FREDA Foundation in honor of a matriarch of the Somerton community and Sederick’s mother, Freda Dawkins.

Ms. Freda, unlike many in her time, recognized education as the primary vehicle by which one can achieve upward social mobility. This was during an era when education was seen as a privilege and not a right among the lower social classes in rural Jamaica. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Freda rose above the socioeconomic quagmire she was experiencing, and fought to have her children educated and positioned in such a manner that they can be change agents in their communities.

The FREDA Foundation, manned by a dedicated Board of Directors, is committed to investing in our young people, while acknowledging the invaluable contribution of those stalwarts in the field of education who laid the foundations upon which we build today.