Schools in Jamaica -Old Harbour Bay Primary St.Catherine Jamaica

This morning I was at Old Harbour Bay Primary School in St.Catherine. The thing that I really love about this school is the morning devotion. My mission is not so much about religion but with so many negative things going on in the world it is always a blessing to see something positive.

The problem that I have been facing a lot is trying to get people outside of Jamaica to support my mission to give every child a fair chance.This is not my first visit to Old Harbour Bay and it will not be my last, The reason for the photos today was to show that there is always room for improvement.

It is nice to be able to give school supplies,uniforms and volunteer time but my mission is to be able to raise enough money to give every child at that school the same opportunity as every other child in the world. I can't think of one school in the US that doesn't have some more of play area other then a dirt field.

    
I think that every child should be given the same rights to education as well as the freedom to be able to enjoy their child hood. I can't think of one school in the US that doesn't have a playground or a child friendly play area. I hope that as we gain supporters this will be changed.

Pregnancy in Hiv/ Aids in Jamaica

        

For every thousand pregnant women in Jamaica sixteen are infected with HIV.


Worldwide, it is estimated that more than 15 million children under 18 have been orphaned as a result of Aids. AIDS is responsible for leaving vast numbers of children across the world without one or both parents. The age of orphans, however, is fairly consistent across countries. Surveys suggest that overall about 15% of orphans are 0-4 years old, 35% are 5-9 years old, and 50% are 10-14 years old.




The scale of the orphan crisis is somewhat masked by the time lag between when parents become infected and when they die. If, as expected, the number of adults dying from AIDS rises over the next decade, an increasing number of orphans will grow up without parental care and love.




Children whose parents are living with HIV often experience many negative changes in their lives and can start to suffer neglect, including emotional neglect, long before they are orphaned. Eventually, they suffer the death of their parent(s) and the emotional trauma that results. They may then have to adjust to a new situation, with little or no support, and may suffer exploitation and abuse.




Children grieving for dying or dead parents are often stigmatised by society through association with AIDS. The distress and social isolation experienced by these children, both before and after the death of their parent(s), is strongly exacerbated by the shame, fear, and rejection that often surrounds people affected by HIV and AIDS. Because of this stigma, children may be denied access to schooling and health care. Once a parent dies children may also be denied their inheritance and property. 




Often children who have lost their parents to AIDS are assumed to be HIV positive themselves, adding to the likelihood that they will face discrimination and damaging their future prospects. In this situation children may also be denied access to healthcare that they need. Sometimes this occurs because it is assumed that they are infected with HIV and their illnesses are untreatable.
    
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
-- Mother Teresa 

If you come to visit Jamaica - Donate school supplies:

Stop by a school and deliver some badly-needed books and supplies. Simple items are scarce for many school children. Donations of school supplies like notebooks, pencils, pens, rulers, crayons, erasers, coloring books, and educational workbooks (reading, spelling, math, comprehension, brain games, puzzles) are always in high demand.

Tips:
  

  * Take items out of their packaging and cut off the tags - Jamaica's landfills are  overflowing and customs is less likely to care if it doesn't look like a re-sale item;
  

  * Vary your donations - too many of the same item tends to raise eyebrows and make you look like a vendor bringing products to sell;
   

 * No battery operated toys - batteries die and are toxic in landfills;
 

   * No games or toys with tons of small pieces that get lost or broken - the more durable the better;
   

 * Spread items throughout your suitcases;
   

 * If asked, you are bringing items to play with kids and plan to bring them back with you. If you say they are just for donation, they are still potentially taxable items.
    

Jamaica street children

Are Jamaica’s street children safer than those who have become ward of the state? It would seem there is not  that possibility owing to the recent development at Armadale in which girls, ward of the states died in a fire at this home of safety run by the state.

 Many of the children who become ward of the state do have parents who have thrown in the towel from frustration because they cannot control them or just cannot be bothered. These children depend on parents for financial support which invariable is readily available in most cases. These children or parents do have a choice.

Street children on the streets of Jamaica do they have a choice of becoming ward of the state or to live on the street? The term street children refers to children who because they are deprived of their parents actually live on the street .They sometimes live on their own, sleep in public places and use public facilities to perform daily hygienic bodily care. Some do have family ties and reside with family members on and on and off arrangement, but most times the tie is just casual.

Many street children are entrepreneurs who engage in activities such as vending, begging, and perform chores such as cleaning windscreen at stop lights for a small monetary contribution. There are others who perform elicit sex acts too for money. Their earnings usually help in supplementing the family earnings. Many of them attend school and are responsible for their own care.

Many street children are on the street because they have no other choice. They may be there because of mistreatment, neglect, abandonment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, poverty, family disintegration, arm conflict in the community they are from, migration, dislocation, natural disaster, and many just there to supplement the family budget.

It has been suggested through studies that HIV/ AIDS, poverty and migration are the greatest factors that has caused Jamaica’s children to resort to living on the streets. In 2003, 5125 children lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. A high migration rate is also cited as a response to social and economic conditions of which Jamaica now harvests the results of a weakened family and community structure. The remittance and the barrels of food and clothes which ones was gladly received from abroad do not have the effect they once had because these children are now entrepreneurs and are capable of financially supporting themselves. What they now need is love, shelter, guidance and a sense of belonging.

The question now is should street children be left to fend for themselves with the minimal support they get from siblings and informal supervision from family, community and neighbours, or should they become ward of the state and placed in homes run by the state? Many would say it is time the state do something for these children. Since many of them have lost their parent to HIV/AIDS. The money allocate for technical and education for research by UNICEF should by now give some more tangible support to Jamaica’s street children.

People are now beginning to think twice about giving children to the state since it has been brought to light that the state facilities need much improvement. With the Armadale saga and the recent interview on the TV programme AlLangles that brought to light some of the abusive treatment state owned children receive; one may want to conclude that street children may have a better chance of surviving on the streets than in some state owned institutions.

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