Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
Clarke
NEWLY APPOINTED Children's Advocate, Mary Clarke, is the defender of children's rights in Jamaica and she is ready to take on the challenges of her new office. But who really is Mary Clarke and what are her responsibilities as Children's Advocate?
Mrs. Clarke taught for 18 years before going to the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), where she has been for 16 years. She is currently manager of the Social Development and Gender Unit and has written several papers and published in PIOJ Working Papers.
Mrs. Clarke is a trained social worker and lectures part-time in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies.
MRS. CLARKE
She is a woman of God and has served in churches since 12 years of age. She is currently a deacon at Grace Missionary Church. Mrs. Clarke who is now widowed, was married to Justice Neville Clarke, a former judge of the Supreme Court. She is a family-oriented person and the mother of three children: Dr. Nigel Clarke, a Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Tanya Roxanne Clarke, a medical doctor and Dale Clarke.
The Children's Advocate was appointed January 1, 2006 to effectively implement the Child Care and Protection Act (2004).
As Children's Advocate, Mrs. Clarke is responsible for investigating and representing cases of violation of children's rights and various forms of crimes and abuses against the nation's children. "I will be ensuring that the voices of the children are heard at all times,"she said.
Mrs. Clarke who reports directly to Parliament said her most challenging responsibility will also include the investigation of and hearing complaints brought on behalf of children, even against government authorities. Despite this, the office of the Children's Advocate is currently located in the Ministry of Health.
The immediate objectives of her office include the dissemination of information and increasing awareness of the role, function and responsibility of the Children's Advocate.
Family friend and attorney-at-law Churchill Neita, describes Mrs. Clarke as a woman of talent and integrity. "She is a very caring mother with tremendous family values and is definitely qualified to defend the rights of children," he said.
"What a woman!" remarked Rev. Dr. Sam Green, pastor of Grace Missionary Church where Mrs. Clarke worships. "She is just this great repository of love and compassion,". "She is a mother par excellence and I don't know if the government could have made a better choice to find somebody to care for the children of Jamaica," Rev. Dr. Green told The Sunday Gleaner.
