My mom left me at a bus stop when I was six years old. She just said, “Stay here. Don’t move.” Being an obedient child, I sat and didn’t move. I waited and waited, and eventually I got up and started walking, which was when the police found me. At first I was lucky to go into foster care, but lucky was only until Grade 9 when my… Read more →←
Topic: Safety and justice
Oneil Williams was just six years-old when he was killed while crossing the road on his way home from school in St. Ann. The last his father Devon saw of his son was a small hand waving goodbye. What compounded this tragedy was that the school Oneil was attending, Brown’s Town Primary School, was chosen by his conscientious father so… Read more →←
Watching this video you can see my emotions. In some way I felt as helpless as the children in state care involved in these critical incidents that I was reading about. “April 27: Two wards got into a fight after a rap session. One girl came behind the other with a broken wine glass and stabbed her over the eye. The other twisted… Read more →←
Fight for Peace doesn’t teach children to fight. It uses combat sports as a way to channel their energies, to instill discipline and values; and help them escape the violence in their communities. To do so effectively – to do so safely – it’s vital that when a child enters the programme, they have a clear understanding what it is… Read more →←
Teaching youths to take a step back, to step away from violent situations is what ‘Psychological first aid’ (PFA) is about. It’s part of what our partners at Fight for Peace are using to help inner city youths here in Kingston. Johannesburg, South Africa, is a city where youth face similar challenges. Visiting from that city… Read more →←
The biggest reward for retired social worker June Torey-Scott is the possibility of saving a young life. “Mrs. Scott, if I hadn’t come for counseling then I would have killed myself,” is a phrase she’s heard many times. For the past 15 years, June has been volunteering her skills for the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), a local… Read more →←
The cases are in the news almost every day. A child beaten with a machete. A child murdered brutally. A child sexually assaulted. Violence against Jamaican children – in all its forms – is a horrifying epidemic. Violence that is passed from generation to generation. Violence that is condoned as “discipline”. Violence that is… Read more →←
The two-year-old boy is recovering, says Peace Management Initiative (PMI) senior social worker Berthlyn Plummer. One week after a gunman’s bullet shattered his little arm, his family told Berthlyn that he’s once again playing. It was another day of hard work for the PMI; a punishingly hot summer day working boots on the ground… Read more →←
Underprivileged children exposed to crime at an early age are unfortunately more likely to be caught up in the justice system. For them, the response of police and the justice system will determine whether they become permanently crimimalised at a young age, or go on to become productive members of society. Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ)… Read more →←
Reporting child abuse is something that every person should feel like they can do. However, in Jamaica there is gap between the laws governing reports and the public’s willingness to do so. In fact: just 1 in 10 adults report child abuse, despite knowing about it. It is through this gap that many children fall. It is this gap that… Read more →←