Boys of Davis Primary School demonstrate how children's rights are abused by their parents. This was a part of their cultural item aimed at sensitising the audience about the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The boys were attending Universal Children's Day which featured the official launch of the "Child Rights Awareness Project" at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, on Thursday. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer A NEW PROGRAMME to promote children's rights was launched Thursday to coincide with the 14th anniversary celebration of the Jamaica Coalition for Rights of the Child (JCRC) and Universal Children's Day.
The programme dubbed "Child Rights Awareness Project" began last year and was implemented following an evaluation by JCRC which showed that the numbers of persons adhering to the United Nations Convention that speaks to the rights of the child were poor.
COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMME
The decision was taken to develop a comprehensive programme aimed at building awareness of children's rights.
The project seeks to find solutions to problems affecting school children that are not necessarily related to the school, such as poor attendance and feeding programmes.
The group will be taking a community-oriented approach by seeking to build partnerships with parents, communities and schools working together to find long-term solutions to problems.
According to project consultant and co-ordinator, Lloyd Stanley of JCRC: "If we can address some of the problems affecting our students then schools will be able to focus more on what schools need to be doing , which is, educating the students."
The project has been operational since October 2002 with 45 schools involved. Other schools are expected to join the programme in January.
In an interview with The Gleaner, principal of Kilsyth Primary School, Cecelia Grant-Francis, described the project as "a welcoming programme to motivate, parents, teachers, students and all concerned Jamaicans."
IMPROVEMENTS
She also pointed out that through the project there have been improvements in student behaviour, once a major problem for her school.
"Problems of aggression, fighting, stealing have improved somewhat. Children are being encouraged to build self-esteem, cleanliness, neatness. Children also have developed (respect for the) value of their property, of others, and the school," she said.
The JCRC in partnership with the Child Development Agency (CDA) field officers, monitor the programme on a regular basis.
When The Gleaner spoke with some of the students about the programme and asked whether they appreciated it, they all nodded in unison as their faces broke into wide smiles.
The day also saw the launch of the two books about children's rights and the parents' role in ensuring that those rights are protected.
CONVENTIONS.
"From Rights To Action" is a guide for parents on the implementation of the conventions. The other book, "Rights and Responsibilities" is a compilation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with additional tips on each right for parents.
In the keynote address, made by Dr. Kingsley Stewart, he charged the students to not allow bad times to be an excuse for bad choices. He also encouraged teachers and parents to flood the children with positive messages, even if they do not see positive results immediately.
