Jamaica

In November 2016, the Jamaican government committed to the elimination of violence against children at the launch of the ‘Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children’ campaign in Kingston. This commitment was further to a number of programmes already in place aimed at reducing the incidence of violence among children especially in schools…

KINGSTON, 14 February 2021 – On Friday (February 12), the Port Henderson Primary School in Portmore became the first school to receive handwashing stations under the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Food for the Poor Resilient Schools Programme – for which Scotiabank has provided $2.2 million in funding. Implementation and logistics for…

KINGSTON, 22 January 2021 - The Department of Correctional Services (DCS), today received technological support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), valued at J$1.92 million to be distributed across the island’s four Juvenile Correctional Centres.   
 The donation comes in response to an application from the Ministry of National…

For these girls becoming pregnant can be so confusing, and lonely. At the beginning of COVID-19, I paid tribute to one of my students at her funeral. She left behind her son to the care of his great grandmother. This teen mother was only 13 years old – a loss that has been both heart-breaking but also a motivation for me as a counsellor at the…, They are still children, The stigma that is placed on these girls is quite disturbing and appalling. Contrary to how it appears, some are very much innocent; not all teen mothers participated in consensual sex. There are girls who were victimised but instead of being supported and protected, they are being ridiculed. I want to put this out there that these teen mothers…, Inspired by their bravery, What I miss most though is the face-to-face classes and being able to interact in person to put a smile on their faces. They really lack access to many things generally and with COVID-19 I was scared for them – about them being further left behind. In St Ann, the tourism industry was gravely impacted and some of their parents lost their jobs. Even…, Counselling is 24/7 work, I always extend myself to my students; I am only a telephone or text message away. I use a work mobile device thanks to UNICEF, and with support the Women’s Centre has strategically repositioned its Counsellors to respond to the needs of our teen mothers. I work with girls from St. Ann, St. Mary and Trelawny. Despite the poor conditions of the…, What’s UNICEF doing? , During COVID-19 through UNICEF, the  Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica  is providing support to the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation, operating under the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, to ensure adolescent mothers continue to receive psychosocial and educational support from WCJF counsellors during the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Aged 16, Damoie Byfield is recalling the day he had to run for his life, jumping into a gully just as a gunman’s bullet grazed his chest. He’s telling it so vividly, and with such a knowing smile that his mother Shian Leslie is finding it hard to hold back not tears, but actually laughter – relief that her son survived. If that expression of…, Helping to keep children in school, “My head was there sometimes, and sometimes my head wasn’t there,” he shrugs, referring to himself as a ‘troublemaker’. That was until his school’s guidance counsellor contacted the UNICEF-supported Peace Management Initiative (PMI). Formed as an independent body to intervene between gangs, the PMI uses a public health approach to empower…, Opportunity outside his community, “I bawled and said I never wanted to on the camp (residential workshop), because I was saying they’re gonna lock me up way down in country. I thought it was a boot camp where they would make you do push ups, but it was nice – the best trip I ever took in my life. I got to meet Kerry-Ann from PMI and then Mr Booth.” Sitting beside him today is his…, Intervening in community dispute, But just as this relationship was being built, Donat received a phone call from Damoie’s mother who was in tears. Suddenly there was a new threat against him, and she was considering moving the family away. As in other communities in similar situations, PMI’s Executive Director Damian Hutchinson organised an intervention with persons of influence…, Boys and girls impacted by violence, “Based on where he is coming from it can be difficult, but he is intelligent. All the teachers and all the guidance counsellors will tell you that he can do his work well, but that the only things that are hindering him are the nature of his involvement with the community around him and the things that traumatised him,” says Donat. Close to 80 per…, Positive example for his peers, “I wanted an extra day down there (at the residential workshop),” says Damoie. “I felt release, to get to make new friends, and I didn’t feel like in the community where you feel like someone is behind you and you don’t have to look left, right.” “I found some people that changed me and sometimes now I’m in Mr Booth’s position because things come…

KINGSTON, 10 December 2020 - The Ministry of Justice's Child Diversion Programme recently received additional support from long-standing partner UNICEF, with a grant of just over $10 million. This latest agreement between the two entities was formalised at a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Justice on December 9. At the ceremony, Justice…

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“Are you having a good time using your tablets?” “YES!!!” shouts a chorus of students. It’s the International day for persons with disabilities and Jamaica’s Portfolio Minister for Education, Youth and Information, Hon Fayval Williams, is hosting a virtual check-in to learn from students with special needs, some of 534 who are receiving tablets…, Helping learning continue at home, “I use my tablets to read, do my online schoolwork, to do maths and learning things. – Amoya White, aged 11,a student at Randolph Lopez School in Hope in Kingston. For Tichan Beadle, aged 18 from Edgehill School of Special Education, St Ann, besides improving on her subjects, the tablet has also helped her social skills and it is a source of …, ‘One Laptop or Tablet Per Child’, The tablets are ‘Accessibility Ready’, meaning that that students can use them upon delivery. Valued at US$100,000,  the UNICEF donation is in support of the Ministry’s ‘One Laptop or Tablet Per Child’ initiative  and goes to children identified by their Special Education Unit as most in-need. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit households with children…, Adapting to the new norm, Across Latin America and the Caribbean, 97% of students are currently out-of-school. Here in Jamaica, UNICEF is working with the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) to  help school leaders to adapt to the new norm of distance learning , and their teaching staff to  keep innovating , whether by online or offline means. Then there is…, Resources for parents, From videos to activities to stories,  visit our webpage for families of children with the disabilities , giving you the information you need to help them reach their full potential in life.

KINGSTON, 5 December 2020 – The Ministry of Education, Youth & Information (MOEYI) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday held an online check-in session on the occasion of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD). The discussion was held to ascertain from students their views on how they felt about using…

When I look in the mirror each morning, I see a woman of worth, I see a woman of compassion, I see a woman of empathy, I see a woman of strength, I see a woman who has come a far way. I see a woman who can make a difference in other people’s life and in the younger ones’ lives to come. What really motivates me is hearing the way the mentees talk…, COVID-19 putting victims at greater risk, My mentees have been impacted a lot during COVID-19 because most of them who used to go to work have to be at home. Being closer pulls partners together, but it can also drive them apart if they don’t know how to cope. You have parents getting so frustrated knowing that their kids are at home and they have nothing to give them. And from then their…, Breaking the cycle, counselling abusers, The increased distance between me and my mentees has been a challenge. Sometimes it helps, like with their partners it has been a little easier than face-to-face – but for me I have to be visualising that person’ s expression and trying to understand their tone more. Like this one abusive partner. He cried on the phone, literally cried and in…, Asking abusers to think like their victims, Like with that man I would ask, ‘What if it was a reverse thing where it was you looking in the mirror as the victim. Would you want somebody to do that to you?’ And of course, he answered ‘No’, but then he has never been asked to look at it like that, because that is not how men have been taught to behave. The more that man started to open up he…, About the Mentor Mom Programme, The  Eve for Life  Mentor Mom Programme provides psychological tele-counselling to girls and women aged 16 to 25 who are experiencing intimate partner violence and abuse in the home. They are then assigned to a Mentor Mom, such as Stacy-Ann – trained to provide peer-to-peer psychosocial support in navigating abusive situations.  Through UNICEF,…

When Miguel Murray goes to work, his children worry. A porter at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), he’s proud of his supporting role ensuring that patients can be treated. But that work comes with the added risk of potential exposure to COVID-19 facing Jamaica’s healthcare workers. “To be frank helping people is something that I…, Healthcare worker making ends meet, “It takes a big pride out of your heart, because you want your kids to be alright. To cut it short, I wish for better.” They are among 3,500 families of children with disabilities, selected by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for a share of  J$40 million in grants donated by UNICEF  to the Programme of Advancement Through Health and…, Recipient of UNICEF-PATH grant, With two sons suffering from asthma, including one who often requires hospitalisation, Nadine and Miguel say the funds have come in handy covering essential items like school uniforms, books and visits to the wholesale store. They feel no hurt to their pride being PATH recipients. But the feeling of working hard and being unable to make ends meet…, Family bonds despite COVID-19, But family itself – daughters, Mickayla,14 and Monique, 18; and sons Matthew, 9 and Maldini, 16 – has been a comfort for Miguel. “One of the main things is that you get to spend a lot more time with your kids – so you get more quality time. It’s not like before when kids come home, do their homework and are gone on the road. Now it’s a more…, Sons’ pre-existing health conditions, Today a smell of burning is drifting into the yard from nearby when the rain starts. Matthew, and Maldini, named after a famous Italian football player, know to pause their passion for football and return inside. “I am very proud to know that he’s helping other people to live,” says the elder brother. “But he’s only human so I worry a lot for him…, National Parent Month, Did you know that November is National Parent Month? This year the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) is holding it under the theme ‘Fathers Rise! Lead and be Wise!’ UNICEF earlier this year interviewed another Super Dad from the same community as Miguel about his approach to positive discipline. You can read that story  here . You can…

KINGSTON, 19 November 2020 – UNICEF Jamaica and the National Secondary Students Council (NSSC) will consult with hundreds of high school students commencing in Youth Month, November 2020, to get their views on improving the education system. The ‘Reimagine Education’ initiative starts on World Children’s Day, November 20. UNICEF and the NSSC will…