NCMC to Undertake Public Education Initiatives for Children

Chairperson of the National Child Month Committee (NCMC), Dr. Pauline Mullings, has said that the Committee would be undertaking a number of public education initiatives, geared at helping children to develop a thorough understanding of effective safety practices, abductions and associated issues.
“We are looking for avenues to really express how we feel and what is happening to our nation’s children. One of the action plans we have, is that we will be going to the bus park in Half-Way Tree, St. Andrew in our t-shirts, to give out leaflets, which we are preparing. They will look at safety guidelines and issues – what is it that we expect our children to do; how they should react in an emergency, when they feel threatened or things like that – so we are in the process of preparing that document and then we are going to distribute them ourselves,” she explained, during an interview with JIS News.
The expected date for the distribution of the leaflets is Wednesday, November 26, and participants will be outfitted in their Child Month’s t-shirts, displaying the theme: ‘Our Children.today’s investment, tomorrow’s gain’.
Additionally, the Committee will be hosting a youth forum on November 28, at the Stella Maris Church Hall, in Kingston, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
“We will be having a youth forum on November 28, and we have actually engaged an Officer from the Protective Services Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), who will come and address our children about their safety and give them some guidelines. We are anticipating some 160 young people and we are going to pass this information to them with a view that they will go out and pass the information on to others,” Dr. Mullings said.
There will also be a panel discussion, featuring three panellists and a moderator, as well as a drama presentation.
The Chairperson expressed alarm at the violent acts being committed against the nation’s children.
“As a Committee, we are really grieving and we are somewhat alarmed as to what is happening to our children, because we believe that our children are the future and if we destroy them, then Jamaica is not going to exist,” she said.
In the meantime, she is reiterating that caring for children is a yearlong commitment and practice, and is not restricted to Child Month, which is celebrated in May.
“For the past three years, we have been taking Child Month out of May, not restricting it to May…just to send a message that we don’t want you to care for your children only in Child Month. We want you to know that it is a yearlong thing,” she pointed out.