Social Impact with Emma » UNICEF Jamaica : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

Human Trafficking and the Problem of Public Education

August 3rd, 2020

The issue of human trafficking in Jamaica appears shrouded in mystery. Why is this? I have not really grasped the dimensions of the issue on our island, to be honest with you. I have to dig around, consciously, to find out the extent of the problem, and what is being done to combat human trafficking. […]

Road Safety Matters: Is Your Vehicle Safe?

July 9th, 2020

“We enter this world without spare parts!” Director of the Road Safety Unit at the Ministry of Transport and Mining, Mr. Kenute Hare, has a marvelous way with words. He was presenting the second in a series of webinars on road safety, focusing on safe vehicles (which do have spare parts, unlike humans). The event […]

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 […]

The Word “Discipline” Means Teaching and Learning, Not Violence and Sadism

October 7th, 2017

Yet another furore has occurred over a “viral” social media post of a woman beating her daughter in her yard. This is most likely an everyday occurrence around the island; but this time, a Jamaican with a smartphone was nearby to record the child abuse. So, Jamaicans were shocked, as if they did not know […]

RISE and the EU: A Partnership to Strengthen Civil Society

March 27th, 2017

On International Women’s Day, I was happy to see a lineup of four women at the head table for a workshop on the Civil Society Boost Initiative (Strategies and Tools for CSO Sustainability). At the opening ceremony, the partnership in this initiative was represented by Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Jamaica, Ambassador […]

Early Childhood Education: “You Have to Get It Right From the Start”

August 31st, 2016

The Auditorium at Jamaica College was overflowing. People spilled outside, meeting up and chatting in the warm sunlight on the neat and tidy “JC” grounds. Inside was simply packed, filled with chairs. Every seat was taken as teachers, administrators and parents awaited the official launch of the Early Childhood Certification Fair, organized by the Early […]

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