Caribbean News
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
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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