By Dionne Rose, Staff ReporterAT A glance, you see the derelict remains of a plaza which once housed vibrant businesses; but at a closer look, just a couple chains to the back, young children from Tawes Pen and Ellerslie Pen in Spanish Town can be seen buzzing with excitement as they are being taught the rudiments of English Language and Arithmetic.
The children, ages four to 12 years, are the beneficiaries of a summer school programme formed out of a community initiative of the Spanish Town Citizens Against Gun Violence. Rosemarie Greene, convenor of the organisation which was formed in March, told The Gleaner that the summer school programme was one of several initiatives that the group was looking at to help curb the violence in the town.
ILLITERACY PROBLEM
"We are the ones who are being killed and, therefore, we have decided to do something about it (the crime) and not talk, but do something. We have identified illiteracy as one of the major problems of violence. If you can't read, you get on the street side and the first person that comes along to tell you how to get a quick buck (you take it) and that's the end of the story. So, we are trying with the younger ones," she said.
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME
Signing on to the programme are also five high school students, Kymme-Iska Williams, Patrice Bingham, Rackiesh Baker, Rishardo Treasure and Kerron Rhoden, who were certified by the JAMAL Foundation to teach these students. The teenagers are part of the National Youth Service (NYS) summer employment programme and were initially placed at Mrs. Greene's business place for the summer. "Immediately as they came in the summer, I harnessed them. I said, come along with me, we've got problems in the community, we need to help these people in Tawes Meadows and Ellerslie Gardens and they were very responsive," she said.
Kymme-Iska Williams, a 17-year-old sixth form student of St. Catherine High School said, "We started out with two students in the first week and in the third week we ended up with 57 students. I think that it is a very good programme because you need to instil certain principles within children in order for them to grow up with it and become better persons in our society".
The programme is held three days per week, from Tuesdays to Thursdays and will end on August 19. Meanwhile, parents are already lauding the programme.
Sophia Anderson, a parent from Tawes Pen said, "It is very nice to see that somebody is interested in seeing that ghetto children have more knowledge and understanding".
Mrs. Greene conceived Spanish Town Citizens Against Gun Violence, after being touched by violence. "My brother was murdered on his farm last year. So I took up the battle and the challenge of trying to help somehow. So I got the organisation formed," she said.
