Founder and CEO of Golden Opportunities organization, Lakeyia Joseph, is the golden girl of Dominica where it comes to helping the poor and the underpriviledged. At 20, she has lightened the lives of many across the nation and given more than the average girls of her age had ever given to others. And she has won many awards and recognition for her humanitarian services to people within and outside Dominica.
Lakeyia’s father abandoned her before she was born. She was raised by her not-so-educated grandparents in the midst of so many boys. She attended the Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary School in Dominica but was noted for her stubbornness and disruptiveness. But she was brilliant. She took part in many programmes such as sports, extracurricular activities, church events, community outreaches, volunteering, clubs and everything she could find.
She came top of her class in high school, and later finished from the Dominica State College with double associate degree in Business Entrepreneurship and Psychology. Finding life difficult as a child, she tried to help other students who did not have much to enjoy schooling. Then she established her NGO, Golden Opportunities.
The charity organization was set up to help young folks achieve gender equality and psychological balance as well as quality education through sports, education, physical training and social interactions. Lakeyia donated clothes, food and school supplies as well as gave scholarships to children from low-income families. To date, she has given out supplies worth over $50,000 to children and young adults.
The High Commissioner of Canada in Barbados named Lakeyia as Dominica’s Youth Champion and Ambassador for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality in 2017, and she received the Queen’s Young Leaders Award for 2018, from Her Majesty the Queen of England.
Lakeyia’s main challenge, however, is sourcing for funds for her charity organization. Many times, she has to look for donors and apply for grants to obtain funds to purchase supplies and donations for students. She also works hard to develop creative programmes that will get children off the streets into schools and also empower them to reach their potentials.
She is also looking forward to begin producing hygiene products and basic stationary items for the use of poor students in Dominican schools; and to take her Golden Opportunities charity to impact families and schools in other Caribbean nations outside of Dominica.
Lakeyia is also the President – Paix-Bouche Constituency (Communities of Bense, Ans-De Mai, Ans-Sol-Dat, Calibishie and Paix-Bouche) Youth Organization; Global Youth Opportunities Ambassador – Dominica; Partner and Ambassador at the Give More HUGS Foundation; Female Adviser – Caribbean Young Democrat Union (CYDU); Volunteer at PAHO, West Dominica Children’s Federation (WDCF), Achievement Learning Centre and National Youth Council of Dominica; and the Youth Ambassador of the Caribbean Safe Schools Initiative- Dominica, among others.
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