Against the odds

ORPHANED at five and raised in and out of Jamaica’s State care system, 26-year-old Latanya Williams is now on the cusp of becoming a dentist. In her final year of a Doctor of Medical Dentistry degree programme, she is determined to be the first in her family to enter the medical field — and prove that a person’s origins do not define his/her destiny.

Williams shared that she grew up in the foster care system and was placed with two families before later entering State care at around 13 years old. She said she’s resided at five different children’s homes across the island, before eventually being placed in a transitional living programme at 19 years old.

Though she did not grow up with the traditional family structure, Williams insists that the people who entered her life and offered guidance, mentorship and support became her family.