THE NEWS of a new home for street boys is, on the face of it, a welcome and worthy project being undertaken by the Rotary Club of St. Andrew. But against the background of the reality facing the society, the projected Goodwin Park Hotel to cost $20 million and house 32 boys is in reality the proverbial "drop in the bucket".We say this in the context of the significant areas of real neglect this and succeeding government administrations have failed to tackle adequately. Indeed in our editorial flashback published elsewhere on this page the point is made that the treatment by the society of the young and elderly is a measure of how civilized it is; and on the evidence at hand Jamaica's score "would be low indeed".
Toward the end of last December, we reported and commented on the remarkable reaction to the death of a windshield wiper who represented a shining contrast to the slew of street boys eking out a living from passing motorists. The death of Richie from a gunman's bullet was mourned because he had convinced his many clients that his was a character of value.
In June last year, we published a moving letter from a youngster who had discovered that school learning was more satisfying than handling guns. He had been rescued and rehabilitated in a Trench Town school, the Restoration Christian Centre. The principal, Ms. Lorna Stanley, has courageously specialised in rescuing and rehabilitating young boys in the immediate inner-city community.
The youngster's letter had moved Dr. Paul Wright, the sports medicine specialist, to launch a fund-raising project by way of a letter to the Editor which earned him a Silver Pen Award; and more importantly over $300,000 for the summer camp he subsequently organised for youth.
We cite these episodes to dramatise the scope of the youth crisis for many of the young boys have been part of the gun crime culture in which murder has become commonplace.
The efforts of people like Mrs. Stanley need urgent support. The education reform must start at the very basic levels where family structures are weak and ineffectual. The new home for street boys is fine; but much more needs to be done.
As a start, the relevant government agencies with responsibility for children should make available to the wider public the results of their surveys on how many boys live on the streets; how many private agencies now offer programmes to help them and in what other specific ways the society can help. All these factors must be coordinated under some administrative umbrella to form a vibrant programme for all the young people who are still outside the formal education network.
