About Me- My journey!

I started my journey all the way back in 2013, when I got the feeling that other children felt if they had no new clothes to wear or came to school with the same pair of shoes for two years in a row. I felt the feeling of not having the adequate resources in order to efficiently function at school. I had the feeling of utter incompletion, where children would wake up in the morning and go to bed with nothing to eat. I got the feeling of a Humanitarian.

I am 19-year-young Lakeyia Joseph from the tiny but mighty island of Dominica! Raised by my grandparents while my mother was away seeking job opportunities and my father was nowhere to be found; and even when he was found, it made no difference. I struggled to get everything done. Everything! 

But, in 2013 while still in high school, I decided that even if I was faced with these challenges, some kids had it worse than me and so I had to do something to help them or at least make their burden a bit lighter by sacrificing my own resources to give them a better life. I started packing up my clothes, shoes, extra school supplies and food; and giving them out to some of the children in my community. A few months later, I started getting donations from people in St. Maarten and the United States to gather the supplies and post them to Dominica so that I could distribute to every child in need.

Of course it couldn't just stay at that- unidentifiable and unrecognizable. I decided to start an organization and called it Golden Opportunities For All (GOFA). The next year, 2015, Dominica was struck by Tropical Storm Erika and caused many people to lose their homes and so many of their valuables. People were left without food to eat or shoes to put on their feet, including me. But I knew I had a mandate and decided to empty my entire closet, gather food and water in my community (which was not severely damaged) and get them to communities who needed them most. The people are always so very happy when they receive help!

Later in 2017, we were once again ravaged by Hurricane Maria and though I was affected, I knew I had a mandate to assist my people. Cobra Tours and PAHO reached out to me to volunteer- as a Relief Administrator at Cobra Tours and a Health Promoter with PAHO. I had no experience or knowledge of neither jobs but I knew the results would be great and so I did not even hesitate; I simply accepted and in the end I went out, did what I had to do and I ended up getting food, clothes, baby supplies, water and everything else to every single Hurricane shelter in my province and even some really far away. 

To this day, I am the official Ambassador and Youth Champion for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Dominica and the last ever Queen's Young Leader! The founder of Golden Opportunities For All and an advocate and voice for every young person in Dominica and the Caribbean Region. I have reached a maximum of over $10,000 worth of supplies, volunteered at over 20 organisations, hosted and participated in over 10 major projects and touched the lives of thousands. As I will graduate with an Associate's Degree in Psychology and Business, GOFA will not only provide financial or physical support, but also emotional and psychological support. 

I am ready and excited to make more of a lasting impact as I go on my Queens Journey for the next year and beyond. I look forward to making a unforgettable difference where ever my destiny takes me- starting with my beautiful island Dominica. I believe that a successful society depend on individuals who are strong, positive and vibrant- but in order for us to change the change we always wanted to change, the change must start with you... Me... Us!