Tagged: Jamaica

Standing on the spot in Denham Town, Kingston where his friends were killed, Omarley Dennie chose not to retaliate. Instead Omarley has left behind his gang past and become a Violence Interrupter (VI) with the Peace Management Initiative (PMI).

My journey from gang leader to violence interrupter

Safety and justice

By Omarley ‘Neily Blacks’ Dennie

I’ve been involved in badness since I was 11 years old, when I had my little ‘one pop’ (single shot gun). When the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) first approached me I never took it seriously, because I was making too much money on the streets leading a gang here in Denham Town.  But just three of us are left from a crew of… Read more →←
Photograph of Francine Smith from Eve for Life

Breaking the cycle of family sexual abuse

Health promotion

By Francine Smith

I share some common background with our clients – girls and young women – in experiencing childhood sexual abuse. From the age of six years-old it was a cousin ten years older who abused me. Yet I was always thinking that I was playing dolly house. At Eve for Life, about 75-80 per cent of our mentees have experienced child sexual… Read more →←
Photograph of Tian McDonald from Eve for Life.

Eve for Life saved me and now I save others

Health promotion

By Tian McDonald

A few years ago it was Eve for Life telling me that my life was not over. Today it is me having that same conversation with others, telling them, ‘Where you are right now, that was once me, but look at me now!’ Eve for Life has become a family to me where they have grown me from a mentee to a mentor mom and now I am a life coach… Read more →←
Photograph of Sabrina Spencer and Teshawn Jones participating in Taekwondo training with Fight for Peace in Parade Gardens, Kingston

Fight for Peace is making me a leader in my community

Safety and justice

By Sabrina Spencer

People at school are always surprised when I tell them I do taekwondo with Fight for Peace. But now I have a green belt and I help coach! What I really like about it is learning self-defense. You can protect yourself on the road like a lot of times I have to use it at my school, Camperdown High School. Students that are bigger than me… Read more →←
Photograph of Shaneile Hall, a member of the Children’s Advisory Panel (CAP) of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

Being in state care made me stronger

Safety and justice

By Shaneile Hall

I feel good in myself when I can sit down and listen to someone who has a similar experience to me being in state care. Because what I have been through I can literally say to them – “I am you!” Yet, when I was going through those experiences I could not even imagine that I would be alive today, because I did have a lot of suicidal… Read more →←
Davy Nicholson and Zachary

Life for Jamaican parents of children with disabilities

Lifelong learning

By Maureen Samms-Vaughan

I would like to tell you a story about a little boy called DJ, which illustrates the challenges that parents of children with disabilities and the children themselves have. At the age of two years, DJ’s mother became concerned about his speech. They visited their local health centre where his mother was told “boys are slower than… Read more →←
Photograph of Christopher Harper

My life journey to protect Jamaican children and youth

Safety and justice

By

In 2017, a 17-year-old student named Mickolle Moulton was murdered. The outrage was intense, and the pain was profound. Her family, friends, teachers and those who wished to pay their respects gathered for a candlelight vigil in her honour. Despite the general atmosphere of sadness, the vigil was one that celebrated her life,… Read more →←
Mentor for youth in correctional facilities, Jerome Palmer, photographed at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona where he is currently studying for a BSc in international relations.

From ‘bad’ student to a leader and mentor

Safety and justice

By Jerome Palmer

I was raised in West Kingston. Growing up where I did, I soon realised as a child that you got more support being deviant than being good. Good people treated you badly, and friends who were doing bad things also treated you badly. For any child who’s trying to be good in the middle of all that, life is going to be lonely. Most of my… Read more →←
Photograph of Suhina Minocha and children at the Albion Primary School in Manchester.

What makes a school in Jamaica child-friendly?

Lifelong learning

By Suhina Minocha

Walking through the school gates, I am met with an abundance of yellow. Bright yellow walls decorated with colourful murals, yellow uniforms on children running back to class as a teacher calls out to them. The vibrant sunshine adds to the yellow glow everywhere, and I already feel warm inside. Suddenly, a small yellow-uniformed blur is… Read more →←

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