Rescuing street kids A COMPREHENSIVE plan to tackle the problem of street children has finally been launched. According to the Prime Minister, who launched the effort last Thursday, the problem has been growing at an alarming rate, a fact which motorists at major street intersections in the Corporate Area can readily confirm. The plague of juvenile windshield wipers has sometimes become more menacing than merely irritating, depending on the age or mindset of these juvenile hustlers. Dubbed the 'Possibility Programme' the objective is to rescue, re-socialise, train or otherwise make useful members of society out of a lost or hopeless generation of young children. It was somewhat surprising to hear the Prime Minister say that there is no accurate estimate of the number of children eking out a living on the streets; even though there have been over the years limited projects by a variety of agencies aimed at rescuing such children. To facilitate the new initiative a national survey will be undertaken by the Child Support Unit of the Ministry of Health to quantify the numbers, circumstances, and antecedents of the children. Precise dimensions of the problem must be established for effective planning. While the overall programme is initiated by the Office of the Prime Minister there is to be collaboration with existing projects as well as participation by the Police Force and the Jamaica Defence Force; and the initial thrust will be in Kingston before going national in scope. Any initial impact should therefore become obvious with a lessening of those windshield denizens now so common at street intersections in Kingston. This initiative must move urgently so these street children do not become street people. The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner.
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