Heather Robinson
TELEVISION COVERAGE of the demonstrations organised by the Jamaica Labour Party last week showed a young woman complaining that she could not support her five children. This is not a new or unique way for women to express themselves about their economic conditions. There is usually always a reference to the number of children that they have to feed or send to school. 'Baby fathers', on the other hand, speak about the number of children in terms of "Me get six or 10". Economic hardships also pose difficulties for single dependentless individuals, and severe stress and strain for mothers who each day are expected to find food for two, three, six or 10 children.
There seems to be a view that the state, or indeed the Prime Minister, must assume responsibility for these children. The levels of anger and vitriol that are expressed against government which is expected to assume the parenting role bears little or no resemblance to the anger that is expressed to the man who fathered the children. In fact, many never even bother to take these fathers to the Family Court to ensure that their children are supported.
What is it that has caused so many Jamaican women to believe that their children are the responsibility of the government and ultimately taxpayers? And have these women exhausted all available government programmes that can assist them?
OPTIONS FOR ASSISTANCE
Some politicians have created the belief that once you have a child and cannot support that child, you should automatically look to government - the adopted 'baby father'. These women are not encouraged enough to try and control - or stop having - the number of children. Not enough of them are being advised to visit the local clinic or hospital to seek to determine whether they are eligible candidates for tubal ligation. And even if this option is not being explored, how many are aware of the many and varied ways in which government can indeed assist them?
The Government of Jamaica through the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NPEP) coordinates a "wide range of poverty-related projects and programmes administered by various ministries and agencies." The NPEP aims at eradicating poverty through the expansion of opportunities and the empowerment of people. Some of these projects and programmes including beekeeping, school feeding, special education, MIDA, Self Start Fund, PATH, rehabilitation and compassionate grants, golden age clubs and feeding programmes.
PUBLIC EDUCATION NEEDED
There are also programmes administered through the Social Development Commission and Poor Relief, Rural Electrification Programme, the Possibility Programme, Drug Serve Pharmacies, Family Planning, HIV/STD Control, Jamaica Drugs for the Elderly Programme (JADEP) the National Health Fund and Jamaica Social Investment Fund.
How many Members of Parliament have directed unemployed women to seek assistance and guidance from these programmes, and further, how many of these women have sought to get assistance on their own accord?
It does not matter who forms the government, there will always be this demand for government to do better for the poor, and we do have some very, very poor persons in Jamaica. What needs to be done, however, is a programme of public education at the community level that informs those who are most in need of what is available. This must be coupled with a programme that informs our young men and women about family planning as well as the use of protection against unplanned births. Those who now have children that they are unable to support should be encouraged to utilise all available methods to prevent the birth of any more children whom they cannot support.
And it does not matter if you are working and receiving a salary that can support you, wait until you can support another mouth before you give birth. We must begin to accept personal responsibility for the children that we give birth to, while at the same time utilising the Family Court to ensure that their fathers support them. At the same time it would be good to give thanks for the fact that as a people we still care enough about each other to assist, and we would never knowingly leave persons to suffer during and after a hurricane. Personal responsibility, however, must be our priority.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
