Hundreds Turn out for RGD Registration Fair

KINGSTON — Mountain View Community resident, Natasha Gunter, was among the hundreds of parents and guardians, who turned up at the East Queen Street Baptist Church, downtown Kingston this morning (Sept. 15), as the Registrar General's Department (RGD) series of registration fairs got underway.

They were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire a free birth certificate for their children.

Miss Gunter said she was glad for the fair as she could not afford the cost of acquiring a birth certificate for her son.

"I could not afford to pay for late entry and I have other children taking care of so it's very hard on me. It's very good that they are doing this and I want to thank the RGD for putting on this fair," Miss Gunter said.

Danny Mattis from Seaview Gardens also expressed pleasure that his daughter will finally get her birth certificate.

"They need to have a lot more events like this taking place all over the island to help other people because there are a lot of people out there who don't have a birth paper for their child or even for themselves," Mr. Mattis said.

This morning's event was the first of 14 being held in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), to address the large number of Jamaica children, who are without birth certificates. Targeted are children born between January 2006 and December 2010, who will be provided with the critical document free of cost.

Chief Executive Officer of the RGD, Dr. Patricia Holness, told JIS News that she was pleased to see so many parents taking advantage of the opportunity.

"We are right now handling probably just over a 100 cases so we are hoping that all our parents in the Kingston area will come on over," she said.

She noted that persons not in the targeted age cohort "may still come over and we will also give special attention and assist you in moving forward so that your children may be able to secure their identification card and their TRN (Tax Registration Number)."

Some 6,000 children from poor communities across the island are to be provided with free birth certificates through the fairs, which conclude on October 4.

Parents or guardians seeking to take advantage of the registration fairs should take along photo identification, and evidence that the child was born between 2006 and 2010, such as the immunisation card or christening record.

The second fair will be held on Friday (Sept. 16) at the Vision Apostolic Ministries, 38 Job Lane, St. Catherine.

The venues and dates for the other 12 registration fairs are: Mandeville Seventh Day Adventist Church, Caledonia Road, Manchester on September 19; Western Jamaica Conference Centre, Mount Salem, St. James on September 20; Social Development Commission (SDC) Complex, Addison Park, Brown's Town, St. Ann on September 26; Bethel  Baptist Church, Half-Way-Tree, St. Andrew on September 28; Jamalco Sports Complex, Clarendon on September 29; Independence Park, Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland on September 30; Highgate Church of Christ, Harmony Hall, St. Mary on October 3; the Santa Cruz Community Centre, St. Elizabeth on October  4; Anglican Church Hall, St. Thomas on October 5; Falmouth Town Hall, Trelawny on October 6; Lynch Park, Buff Bay, Portland on October 7; and Central playfield, Lucea, Hanover on October 10.  

All sessions are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm each day.

Children, who have never been registered, and those who require late entry of name, will also be accommodated. The events will also provide the opportunity for an additional 27, 257 children to obtain birth certificates.        

UNICEF is providing some $8.5 million towards the initiative.

By Latonya Linton, JIS Reporter