Dear Parents,
We commemorate our Emancipation today, remembering the significance of freedom and its profound impact on the lives of our children. The day is a powerful reminder of the journey we have undertaken to secure liberty for Jamaicans. and of our struggle to realize a vision of equality for all. Freedom for all forces us to tolerate individual lawful adult actions, but thankfully not at the expense of harming our children.
Our Alliance regards today as symbolizing more than liberation from physical chains, but also the breaking free from cultural, mental and emotional barriers that might hold us back from reaching their fullest potential. Parents must play a vital role in nurturing our children’s dreams, fostering their sense of self-belief, and keeping hope of a brighter future alive. This requires empowering and preparing them to face the modern world logically, and with courage and faith.
Therefore as we celebrate freedom, we should also reflect on our responsibility to protect our children in their years of preparation, in order to safeguard their futures. We can agree that early exposure to violent and sexual contents and behaviors robs some of them of the success they deserve to inherit. Also agree that our children are at risk when left on their own in communities that prey on their innocence.
Verbal and physical abuse, teenage pregnancies, parental negligence, popularized immoral wealth, and the prevalence of gangs and negative role models, all form a cauldron of challenges and uncertainties for Jamaica’s future.
It is our duty to shield children from any harm that would enslave them to hopelessness tomorrow. We must improve our efforts to provide safe and nurturing public environments where their positive dreams can thrive. In preserving hope for a brighter future, we wish to instill in them the values of education, morality, perseverance and resilience.
Anyone can help us to realize our visions by supporting our programmes and policies. Already the Alliance has initiated the following projects to deliver some of our objectives:
- The Ball for Peace season, which includes a six-a-side scrimmage competition that will develop avenues for local churches to become sites of intervention in family challenges across target communities, and a Bawl for Peace concert promoting conflict resolution.
- A Triple Rs summer Back-to-School week that will help beneficial at-risk children and their families to prepare and plan for the new academic year.
- The Critical Thinking Debating Competitions that will stimulate discussions about the challenges faced by families, schools and the wider society, while participants and viewers develop habits of thinking critically to find consensus and solve problems.
We are already working to sensitize policy makers and the Jamaican public about policies that will help well-thinking parents to shield our children from pernicious influences. I encourage you to review and support our proposed Rowe Reforms (www.parentsall.org/reforms) and to attend our Forum in November when we will explore more solutions.
The Alliance will of course lobby for policies that protect family units and enhance each family member’s right and ability to make meaningful contributions to society. Parents deserve the power to make choices for children’s social interactions, education and growth. We want them equipped with the right tools to confront today’s challenges, and supported by free access to first world education that fosters critical thinking and a deep appreciation for knowledge.
On this Emancipation Day, I encourage you to commit to nurturing a generation of empowered, educated, peaceful, free and productive Jamaicans. Together, we can create a society where children develop the skills to thrive and grasp their brightest futures, before their hopes are damaged by harmful encounters and our own unfortunately common failures. Please consider joining or supporting our Alliance to help make a positive difference.
Happy Emancipation Day!
Rev. Herro V. Blair
Chairman, Parents Alliance Jamaica