Douglas Orane, Chief Executive Officer of Grace, Kennedy and Company and Child Month Patron, talks with Aundre Brooks and other students from Wallens Basic School after their performance at the recent launch of Child Month activities. The launch took place at Grace, Kennedy's Harbour Street offices, downtown Kingston. The activities also marked the 50th anniversary of the celebration of Child Month. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer THE NEED to protect the nation's youth will be the focus of this year's National Child Month celebrations.
Activities for the month, which begin on May 1, 2003, were launched last week with several calls for Jamaica to nurture, not destroy its young.
It was a message encased not only in various greetings at the ceremony but in this year's theme, entitled: "Protect Our Children Save Our Nation."
IMPROVING OUR
CHILDREN'S LIVES
Ambassador Marjorie Taylor, Special Envoy for Children, in her message for the occasion, said it was important to use this month to examine the extent to which the lives of local children can be improved.
"Too many of our children are being killed, hurt, impoverished and orphaned as a result of violence in their homes and communities. This cannot be addressed by Government policy alone," she said. "Each individual has a role to play in securing the welfare of these precious gifts," she added.
For his part, Douglas Orane, Child Month patron and Grace, Kennedy's Chief Executive Officer, called the theme a "profound rallying cry."
SPECIAL CARE AND ATTENTION
He said, "Children, because of their vulnerability, need special care and attention, and their families, communities, and the state must do everything to ensure their safety and development."
The function was held at Grace, Kennedy's Harbour Street offices, downtown Kingston. The activities also marked the 50th anniversary of Child Month.
Mr. Orane was enthusiastic about the newly drafted Child Care and Protection Act which, he said, is to be presented to Cabinet "shortly" and plans by the Ministry of Health, through the Child Development Agency, to continue developing a National Plan of Action for Children as part of the United Nations Programme, entitled, 'Creating a World Fit for Children.'
He, however, lamented that the situation in Jamaica with regard to safeguarding children "is not so good" and called for Jamaicans to become "big brothers or big sisters" who mentor children in school and other institutions. He urged non-governmental organisations (NGOs), churches and business leaders to take a more active role in their communities.
Quoting from the National Survey of Street and Working Children commissioned by the Health Ministry's Child Support Unit, Mr. Orane, a former Independent Senator, said that there were between 2,818 and 6,448 street and working children across Jamaica. The data showed that most child labourers worked with their parents' knowledge and that 43 per cent of them spent this money on food and other basic necessities while just under one third of them give all or some of their earnings to their parents or other relatives.
"Large numbers also suffer from physical and sexual abuse, lack of health care and limited education," he said. "...We, as individuals, must do our part and as a community, we must insist that the state fulfils its responsibilities," he said.
