RGD Continues Birth Registration Today in Spanish Town

KINGSTON — The Registrar General's Department (RGD) is continuing its islandwide birth registration programme with a fair  today (September 16), at the Vision Apostolic Ministries, 38 Job Lane, Spanish Town, St. Catherine.

The fair is the second being held in as many days, following one staged at the East Queens Street Baptist Church, Downtown Kingston, on September 15.

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 10.

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 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 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 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