Large Turnout at RGD Booth on Labour Day in St. Thomas

More than 300 persons visited the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) booth at the Bath Botanical Gardens in St. Thomas on Labour Day (May 23), to submit applications for birth, death and marriage certificates as well as to obtain additional information about the civil registration process.
On hand at the booth to provide information and customer service was Nicole Robinson, Marketing and Planning Manager at the RGD, who told JIS News that the turnout was more than expected, but welcomed nevertheless, because it offered the opportunity to further understand “some of the public education challenges and issues which need to be addressed.” One such challenge, the Manager cited, was the Late Entry of Name process, which was of concern to several mothers present and required detailed explanations of the process involved.
She also noted that several persons making applications were not able to complete the process, because they could not provide the correct information which was needed.
“There are persons who continue to use their ‘pet name’ as their correct name and this is causing a challenge, because we have to make sure that we interview them thoroughly to ensure that the names that they are applying for are the names that they were previously registered with,” she explained.
Continuing, the Marketing Manager pointed out that a number of persons who visited the booth, including Jamaicans living overseas, expressed an interest in conducting genealogical research.
“We find that people want to link with their past. They want to get the opportunity to know, for example, who their great-great grandfather was and where their roots are,” Miss Robinson told JIS News.
The RGD also had on display a copy of the first Bogle to be registered and married in St. Thomas.
“There have been a number of persons who have been interested in the display and this, I think, has led to them enquiring about genealogical research,” she said.
The RGD conducts more than 960 mobile outreach meetings each year, both locally and overseas. This is the second time that the agency is conducting a Labour Day outreach. Last year the team worked in Falmouth, Trelawny, where some 500 persons were assisted.