Two outstanding student leaders have endorsed the newly established 24-hour dedicated child and teen helpline – SafeSpot. Chairman of the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) Children’s Advisory Panel, Ronaldinho McLean, and National Secondary Students Council (NSSC) Public Relations Officer, Ree-Anna Robinson, voiced their support and that of their respective organisations during the recent digital launch.    The toll-free helpline is...

Like most other entities, the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) has had to change how it operates, due to the onslaught of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The phenomenon has, however, led to greater efficiency and an expansion of its reach to the nation’s parents. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPSC, Kaysia Kerr, tells JIS News that the Commission has...

To celebrate her 39th birthday in April, Denise Stewart, a Jamaican living in the United States (US),   decided that she wanted to do something that would be impactful. After some thought, she came up with the idea of donating 39 tablets to needy students in her native parish of St. Elizabeth and neighbouring Manchester. Earlier this year, she had provided...

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought pain and suffering for people everywhere, particularly the most vulnerable,  but it has also shown that an abundance of kindness exists among persons at all levels of society, including children. One such kind soul is 13-year-old student of Denbigh High School in Clarendon, Rhianna Minott, who, since the onset of the pandemic, has taken...

Wards at the Mt. Olivet Boys’ Home in Walderston, Manchester, are to move into their newly constructed and modern dormitory in June, sponsored by Yohan Blake’s YB Afraid Foundation, in collaboration with a team of contributors and established corporations across the world. “This is going to revolutionise the way we care for boys at Mt. Olivet and in Jamaica on...

A vegetable garden is a gift, wards of the state living at the Nest Children’s Home in Kingston say, they have wanted for a while now. On National Children’s Day, which was observed on May 21, they received that gift from the Government, through the Backyard Vegetable Gardens in Residential Childcare Facilities (RCCFs) initiative. The Home received the first set...

Children in Jamaica have a right to be protected from abuse and harm, and those rights are safeguarded in the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA), which came into effect in 2004. The legislation promotes the safety and well-being of children across the country. Children’s Officer at the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), Carolyn Beckford, said that the...

When Sasha Hill noticed her three-year-old daughter, Dejanae Gayle’s diminishing vocabulary, her maternal instinct told her there was a problem. She said among the noticeable factors indicating there was an issue was the fact that after birth, she was not hitting her milestones as the “normal” child would. “What was significant was that she started to hit her milestones at...

With the massive spike in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to interact, maintain family contacts, participate in online school and play games, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, parents and guardians are being encouraged to protect children from online perils. Regional Director for the Western Region with the Child Protection and Family Services...