JAMAICA: Education Minister Calls on Communities to Protect Children

Montego Bay, October 27, 2018 – Jamaica – Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is calling on communities across the island to come together to protect the nation’s children.

“I am calling on all well-thinking Jamaicans, all communities across Jamaica – let us stand together for peace and justice. Take care of our children; let us go back to the days when the entire community raised the children. We should not harm them; we should protect them and allow them to grow up and help to build this country,” he said.

The Minister was speaking to journalists after a visit with the family of 14-year-old Raven Wilson at their home in Top Road, St. Ann, on Wednesday (October 24). The teenager was found dead in the community on October 19.

Senator Reid offered condolences to her parents – Lavern Morgan and Locksley Wilson, noting that the Government “will stand with the family in this time of distress”. He urged the citizens to allow the law to take its course, so that those responsible can be apprehended and justice swiftly served.

Senator Reid noted that the family’s close relationship “is the kind of parenting that the Government is promoting, with mother and father who are loving and protective. The situation is very regretful, and I put it to God, who will make sure that those responsible for this crime are dealt with accordingly”.

For her part, Ms. Morgan said she is grateful for the outpouring of love and support she has been receiving from the Top Road community.

“The support feels good. I am thankful to everyone as well as God, because if I did not have the support, I do not know what would have become of me. So I am very grateful,” she said.

Ms. Morgan said she was thankful that Senator Reid came by to show his support and was heartened that the love for her daughter extended beyond Top Road.

“It’s good to see that everyone cared about Raven. Everybody is here together [along with the Minister] to show [us] love,” she noted.

Senator Reid, during his visit, prayed with the family and offered words of comfort.

Release: JIS

Contact: Serena Grant

Photo Captions:

Header: Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid  (right) comforts a tearful Lavern Morgan (left) mother of 14-year-old Raven Wilson, who was  recently slain. Occasion was the Minister’s visit to her home in Top Road, St. Ann, on Wednesday (October 24).

Insert: Minister of Education, Youth and Information , Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid  (centre), comforts Locksley Wilson (left); and Lavern Morgan (right) parents of 14-year-old Raven Wilson, who was recently slain. Occasion was the Minister’s visit to the family’s home in Top Road, St. Ann, on Wednesday (October 24).

Photos by Serena Grant