Since losing her husband of 16 years to cancer in November 2019, Giselle Chance has been at the helm of Vision on Mission – an NGO founded by Wayne Chance in 1995 with a mandate to rehabilitate formerly incarcerated men and reintegrate them into society.
“Vision on Mission was incorporated by him upon his exit from prison. I was a co-founder, but he was the one who championed the cause. As his wife, I was there to support him and help with the administration.”
Now, in her role as CEO, her mission is to carry on the work to which her husband dedicated the latter part of his life. He was 47 when he died.
“It was not an easy transition, for more than one reason,” the former UWI administrative employee told WMN.
“I had just lost my husband, became a single parent to three children, and had to come to the fore in an organisation that treats primarily with men – rehabilitating men who would have a criminal background. So I had to adapt very quickly to the challenges that came with working with this section of the population.
[caption id="attachment_1100320" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Vision on Mission CEO Giselle Chance says her mission is to carry on the work to which her husband dedicated the latter part of his life. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
“Before, I had always been in the background giving support; now I had to lead the organisation."
Fortunately, she said, she received a lot of support from the board of Vision on Mission, family and friends.
“I didn’t go it alone, and by the grace of God I was able to take up the mantle and continue Wayne’s legacy.”
Chance said although she could have passed on the responsibility to someone else, she made the decision to step forward and lead because she wanted to bring the organisation to a place where if, in the future, she needs to step back a bit, she would be able to do so knowing that whoever takes over can continue what her husband had started.
She fondly recalled their early encounters that led to forming Vision on Mission, and the many hurdles they had to cross to start a life together because of his past.
[caption id="attachment_1100321" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Vision on Mission administrative building in St Augustine. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
“Wayne and I met at a church camp a couple months after he came out of prison. For me, it was, ‘I like this guy; I think he has a good vision,’ and I went chasing after him,” she said with a loud laugh. “We fell in love and eventually got married, but being a pastor’s daughter and falling in love with an ex-con, everybody wasn’t too happy about it at the time. There were a lot of questions, a lot of prayers.
"But I made a decision to give Wayne Chance a chance in spite of the doubts, which were warranted.
“I won’t advise young women to just enter into a relationship with someone who was involved in any type of criminal activity, because there is the risk of that person going back to a life of crime if they don’t receive a level of support and they don’t have that
