United Nations Development Programme Jamaica

Micro Grant Project between UNDP and VPA: Peace for Prosperity Initiative 
 
 

Situational Analysis 

The UN Study on Violence against Children (2006) reports that children are bombarded by violence and fighting in their homes, at school, in residential and correctional institutions creating a devastating impact on them and their caregivers.

Children also experience school closure and disruption of classes due to violence.

Jamaica is noted to be one of the most violent countries in the world with a homicide rate of 44 per 100,000 (JCF Statistical Unit).  More than 1,500 people have been murdered every year over the past three years. Children and women are disproportionately affected by domestic violence with 32% of adolescents reporting being victims of physical abuse.

Crime and violence adversely affect the economy of Jamaica. Data from the Jamaica Injury Surveillance System (JISS) at the Ministry of Health indicates that violence costs the Ministry of Health & Environment J$1 billion every year. This represents 40% of the recurrent hospital budget of the Ministry of Health & Environment.  As such money which could have been spent on caring for other patients, improving social services, creating jobs and improving the infrastructure of schools is spent on nursing stab or gun shot wounds, a broken arm or keeping a crime victim alive in intensive care units.

In 2007, seventy-three percent (73%) of hospital-referred injuries were caused by a physical fight or an argument.  The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) revealed in November 2008 that over seven hundred Jamaican children were reported missing since the start of the year 2008.  Of that number, only a little over 350 of these children were found or returned home.  About sixty were killed and another sixty were injured by gunshots. 

With the increases in violence against children, many children and youth are living a life of fear and terror.  Many are even afraid to leave their homes to attend school.  If nothing is done to sensitise Jamaicans about the urgent need for action in controlling crime and violence by changing the mindset of the people, then our children will continue to become young adults without knowing what it is like to have a safe and protective environment to live in.

To assist in this effort of building a protective environment for our children the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) has been partnering with the Healthy Lifestyle Project (HLP) of the Ministry of Health & Environment (MOHE), PALS (Peace and Love in Society) and UNICEF since 2005 to strengthen and expand the peace movement in Jamaica through an annual Peace Campaign.  The campaign has become a calendar event for many organizations, agencies, communities, and other stakeholders which have been partnering with the VPA to promote a message of peace and provide tangible manifestation of the strength of the peace movement for the protection of all Jamaicans from violence, especially our children and youth.

The annual Peace for Prosperity campaign aims to support the twenty-five year National Development Plan - Vision 2030 Jamaica to make “Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business.”  The VPA and its partners recognise that if we are to achieve developed country status by the year 2030 as envisioned, then crime and violence must be controlled.

The campaign uses the guiding principles of the National Development Plan of building “a safe, cohesive, orderly and just society,” where our children and youth can live without fear.

Overview

The 2009 Peace for Prosperity Campaign aimed to strengthen and expand peace building initiatives across the island through the work of more than twenty-five Government, non-government and community based organisations sharing peaceful alternatives to violence to build a protective environment for children and youth.

The goals of the campaign were:

1. Strengthen the peace movement across Jamaica to help make Jamaica a safe, cohesive, orderly and just society where children and youth are protected
2. Increase public awareness of the economic cost of violence and
3. Increase public awareness of the impact of violence on children and how to reduce that impact. 

The VPA and its partners designed specific messages, interventions and initiatives that are targeted at children and youth, parents, educational and religious institutions, media, community groups/clubs, service organisations, social services, NGOs, children & youth organisations, law enforcers, the private sector, Government, hospitals and health Centres and entertainers. 

Start a New Campaign – Black Soil Outreach

Data indicates that victims as well as perpetrators of violence usually fall in the adolescent and young adult age groups. In an effort to reduce youth violence, Black Soil Outreach headed by Tarrus Riley developed the Start a New Campaign. The campaign is a school-based intervention which stimulated creative thought and activities within at-risk youth to tackle violence at one of its most intricate points.

The campaign began in February in more than ten high schools and teaches violence prevention, promotes self love and respect, and peaceful thinking. Each intervention will lasted for approximately 2 hours. The target groups will consist of students from 3rd to 6th form.

Through performances by Tarrus Riley and other invited artistes, students are encouraged and given examples of ways they can use their creative energies to make a positive step in life.

The Area Youth Crew from Mountain View Area Youth Foundation conducted edutainment performance at the interventions. The dramatic presentation tackles issues of skin bleaching, the importance of education, and conflict resolution.

The Start a New campaign is a collaborative effort between Black Soil Outreach, the Violence Prevention Alliance and the Ministry of Health.

Building on this initiative UNDP provided a micro grant project of US$ 9000.00

(JA$ 796,500.00) to extend the programme and conduct 6 additional forums in communities or schools and to develop educational package with a facilitators guide.

The UNDP/VPA Initiative 

The grant of US $9000.00 was provided in March by UNDP to extend the Start a New campaign to other schools and communities.

The programme sought to conduct 6 forums for children and youth in the parishes of Kingston, St Catherine and Clarendon during the months of March and April using a skit format which would be presented by the Area Youth Foundation crew to address issues facing children and youth such as self esteem, peer pressure, parenting and other challenges that may lead them into conflicts, delinquent and aggressive behaviours.

In addition audio-visual and other educational materials would be developed and used to support the presentation and discussions.

The target schools were primarily those involved in the Change From Within Project /UWI lead by Pauletta Chevannes.

The plan was to complete the forums by the end of April, but many of the schools had sporting events followed by the Easter vacation which made this goal impossible. The summer term calendar was filled with exam related activities and Principals were reluctant to divert the children from the focus on examinations.

Two forums were completed in March at Holy Trinity High and St Anne’s High Schools. At Holy Trinity High school   over    300   hundred children from Grades 9-11 and at St Anne’s over 500 children from grades 7-11 participated in these  forums which were lead by the Area Youth Foundation crew-                   using the skit format and music to conduct the sessions. The sessions were interactive and focused on self esteem, responsibility, sharing, caring and coping with challenges without conflict.

In view of the difficulties in arriving at consensus on the dates for the remainder of the forums a change in strategy was required. The target was then the summer camps which would bring many children from several different schools together with their teachers for 5 day periods. This enabled much more time for interaction with the students and opportunities for using the medium of the arts, culture and sports to reinforce the messages even after the workshop presentation was completed. The educational materials were not available at the time of these 2 workshops will be sent to the Guidance Counselors at the schools that participated in these 2 workshops as well as those that took part in the Start A New Campaign.

The Area Youth Foundation crew was not available to do all the required sessions and so Dr Kim Scott from the Hope Wellness Centre was requested to conduct some sessions at each Camp 2 workshops were conducted and educational materials distributed.

The Camp held at the Moneque Teachers Training College targeted 80 children ages 12 to 16 yrs old along with their teachers from 36 schools. The Camp held by the Child Resiliency programme targeted 60 children ages 8 – 14 yrs from the communities of Kintyre, Hermitage, August Town, Mona Commons and Mud Town.

Educational Materials

Initially an audio-visual presentation was to be developed of testimonials of persons who have lived through different experiences that were highlighted in the skit .This however did not materialse as the technical team was unable to complete the work in the time specified.

UNDP was consulted and approved the re-printing of the book” Raising your Children to Resist Violence”, along with educational flyers, poster, and 2 educational DVDs. In addition UNDP approved the development and printing of a facilitators guide for the use of the educational materials and the development and printing of a folder to hold all the materials ( educational package attached).A total of 200 packages have been prepared and distributed to the participating schools and other key stakeholders.

Conclusion

Despite the difficulties incurred in the implementation of this micro grant the support provided by UNDP enabled the development of the educational materials to support the key messages of the workshop.

The workshops at the schools were well received.

The forums held at the camps provided opportunities to interact for longer periods with the children and their teachers in smaller groups and facilitated the use of multiple methods for reinforcing of key messages. It was therefore easier to hold the attention of the children for the entire session and ensure that all participated.

The financial report with the supporting documents accompanies this report. A full copy of the 2009 Peace for Prosperity Campaign is also enclosed.

The VPA wishes to thank the UNDP for the support provided for this project