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October 15, 2009
Etana's Mission to Motivate Youths
Kingston, Jamaica--14th October 2009-- "I have always taken a special interest in the youth as they hold the key to the future," says Etana sincerely.
Beyond the soulful singer's love of music, lies a passion to help the youth. And through out her impressive career, Etana has taken pride in inspiring and motivating youth through music and many other efforts. Moreover, the soulful songstress is especially vested in empowering young girls.
"I am particularly driven to encourage young girls since they often don't recognize their full potential because of some of society's stereotypical roles placed before them."
Etana regularly talks to The Young Reggae Girlz, Jamaica's under 17 and under 20 female soccer teams. A hit among the team members, Etana shares music and life experiences with the team and encourages the girls to respect themselves so that others can respect them. But no talk is complete with out focusing on the central theme of education. A critical component, the artist declares "education is the greatest way to overcome poverty and be successful."
Motivational talks with the Reggae Girlz are just a snippet of Etana's commitment to the youth, as she regularly visits schools through out the world. No matter where Etana is performing, she goes out of her way to visit schools in the respective areas.
In addition to these independent efforts, Etana is now a featured artist on the RE School Tour. Recently, she commanded the standing room only crowd at the Tour's first stop at St Andrew Technical High School in Kingston, JA. There, ‘The Strong One’ belted out a string of hits to the 700-plus crowd and was thrilled when students sang the lyrics verbatim.
Etana is slated to perform on the tour each Tuesday that she is in Jamaica until mid-November. She willingly joined the RE School Tour for a second time because its platform is directly in tune with her efforts involving youth.
It is her goal to launch a youth-driven foundation, plans for which will be formalized soon.