Social Impact with Emma » children : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

The Hidden Problem of Elder Abuse

September 30th, 2018

We often speak, nowadays, of our most vulnerable citizens and the need to protect and care for them. The fact is, their needs and concerns are often “swept under the carpet,” because they are unable or unwilling to speak up for themselves, and have no one to champion their cause. Because advocacy is certainly needed […]

Fathers Are Humans, Too

June 17th, 2018

In Jamaica, there is a tendency towards idealizing specific family roles. On Mother’s Day, we are smothered with roses and pious texts, and reggae singers croon their undying love for their “Mama.” On Father’s Day, it is much less intense. For our own cultural reasons, there is less emphasis on the father, who is often […]

Powers of Persuasion

May 1st, 2018

I often pick up ideas from seemingly random comments on Twitter. I turn them over in my head. They coalesce, curl into a little ball. I uncurl them again later, and see if I can write about them. Many ideas can develop that way, if you give them the chance. So, a tweet from environmentalist […]

Hunger, Obesity and Rural Poverty: All Part of the Same Picture

February 28th, 2018

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is holding the 35th Session of its Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Montego Bay next week from March 5 – 8. Among its three top priorities for the meeting are hunger – and, paradoxically, obesity. Both are on the rise in the region. The other […]

The Millennial Obsession: Thoughts from a Baby Boomer

October 28th, 2017

“Millennials” seem to be much in the news these days – and they don’t seem to be getting very good press. According to media reports (including social media), Millennials are self-absorbed, “entitled,” obsessed with money and material things, and they complain a lot. I am the mother of a Millennial, born in the 1980s. Millennials […]

In Need of Care and Protection: At the SOS Children’s Villages

October 15th, 2017

Towards the end of the summer, I had the opportunity to visit two SOS Children’s Villages in Jamaica: one in Stony Hill, St. Andrew and the other in Barrett Town, near Montego Bay. On both occasions, the villages were relatively quiet; most of the children were out enjoying themselves at summer camps, before the new […]

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