Jamaica will observe Child Month 2019 in May, under the theme ‘Encourage, Enable, Include Me’.                          Speaking at the launch, held on April 17 at the GraceKennedy Harbour Street office, downtown Kingston, Chairman of the National Child Month Committee (NCMC), Dr. Pauline Mullings, said this year’s theme is applicable for all children; however, emphasis will be placed on children with special...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, says come September when the 2019/20 academic year begins, all reports of corporal punishment being administered in schools “will be treated very seriously”. Mr. Terrelonge, who reiterated the Government’s prohibition policy on corporal punishment, emphasised that this method of discipline “is not the solution for a...

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is urging anyone with information about the death of eight-year-old Shante Skyers to make a report to the police. The girl’s body was found in Sterling Castle Heights, St Andrew on Tuesday. She was reported missing on Thursday, 11 April 2019. Minister Grange has urged people in the...

State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, says regulations governing the adoption of children in State care are to be amended in order to speed up the process. Mr. Terrelonge notes that the impending changes will see children who have been neglected, abandoned or abused by parents, guardians or caregivers becoming eligible for adoption...

The Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) will host the official launch of the inaugural Adolescent Mothers Parenting Conference on Tuesday (April 16), at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston. Activities for the conference include testimonials from WCJF alumni, as well as an interactive discussion forum. Endorsed by the Government through the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the...

The Human Employment and Resource Training (HEART) Trust/NTA continues to accept applications for its 2019 HOPE Youth Summer Employment Programme, which will run from June to August. Formerly implemented through the National Youth Service (NYS), the programme targets youth between the ages of 17 and 29, and young persons from the Community for Persons with Disabilities, who are between ages...

The new Paediatric Cardiac Unit at the Bustamante Hospital for Children is now operational. For the period April 8 to 12, a volunteer medical mission team from the United Kingdom, organised through Chain of Hope, performed procedures on children suffering from congenital heart conditions in the unit, alongside the local cardiac team at the hospital. Ten children were successfully treated...