Social Impact with Emma » youth at risk : 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. […]

COVID-19 and Our Most Vulnerable – Part 1

May 15th, 2020

The ongoing pandemic, and our response to it, continues to raise many questions, and fewer answers than I would like. With the slight “loosening” of social restrictions and the pending opening of our borders, how are those who already face so many everyday challenges faring? And one wonders, how do they face up to the […]

COVID-19 and the “Digital Divide”

April 4th, 2020

We are supposedly “on lockdown” at this time. Nevertheless, with businesses and schools closing, we are turning inwards, and many have obeyed the instruction to “Tan Ah Yuh Yaad” (stay home). Many have not, but that’s a different matter. There is so little for them at home. Now, this is where social divides are highlighted. […]

Civil Society Collaborates to Influence Health Policy for Mothers and Infants

November 10th, 2019

As I entered the quiet, cozy Alhambra Inn recently, I stopped to look at the beautiful koi carp swirling in the water near the entrance. I was prepared to be inspired, not only by these majestic fish. Why? Because I was attending a meeting organized by the Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC). I know […]

Youth Activism Is Alive and Well – If Given the Chance

May 16th, 2019

Our Jamaican youth often get a “bad rap.” Many Jamaicans believe they are lazy and self-centered. Millennials, in particular (slightly older) are seen as shallow and obsessed with material things. Jamaican adults often put young people down; between the ages of twelve and twenty-five, say, they are not entitled to express an opinion or have a seat […]

The Nature of Violence, Youth and Broken Windows

December 27th, 2018

I was astounded to read in the New York Daily News that for five days over Christmas, there were no murders at all in that city of 8.6 million. Zero. Now, New York is a deep, dark, gritty city – everyone who has been there will agree. It is bursting with energy, day and night. It […]

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