Brown's Town, St Ann:

Member of Parliament for North-west St Ann, Othneil Lawrence is appealing for a violence-free 2009.

Lawrence was speaking on Saturday at a children's treat in Brown's Town, St Ann, where the MP feted over 300 children.

"This is a time in which it doesn't matter if you are JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) or PNP (People's National Party). This is the time Christ came into the world to redeem us and we must always show love to our brothers," he said.

"We realise 2008 has been a violent year and we just want to know that, come 2009, by the grace of God and the support of us all, this country will make a turn regarding a violence-free year, a year in which parents and children will reunite and enable a violence-free year in our schools," said Lawrence.

Light moment

Each child received a gift, along with refreshments, and was entertained by the Jonkunoo group from Steer Town in the parish, a magician, a bounce-about and other activities.

The Jonkunoo group showed versatility, doing face-painting and performing some of the latest dance moves.

A light moment came when one of the performers, in trying to dance on his hands, had all the coins he had been collecting as donations, spill out his pocket.

In a mad rush, the children dived for the coins, stuffing them into their pockets. The dancer was later seen begging the kids to hand back his cache. It is unclear how much money was returned.

The youngsters were happy with what they received and seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the occasion, in spite of the rainy weather that persisted for most of the day.

"It's an annual treat I host here in Brown's Town at the car park," said Lawrence. "We cater to the children, showing them some love at Christmas. Today, they are really happy; you can see the joy on their faces. Their parents came out with them and they had a tremendous time. This is our fourth 'family fun day' in the constituency, and we always end it here in Brown's Town."

- Carl Gilchrist