Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth & Sports

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Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sport, Olivia Grange, has said that there is a need to restore the presence of uniformed groups in schools.

"Jamaica has suffered from a fall off in the influence of uniformed groups for children over the last decade," she remarked at the official launch of Child Month 2008 at the Institute of Jamaica on East Street, Downtown Kingston on April 8.

She indicated that there has been a significant increase in the 2008/09 budget to support the expansion of uniformed groups over the next 12 months.

The Minister encouraged the students present at the launch to get involved in the Boys Scouts, Girl Guides and cadet movements. "Speak to your teachers and ask them how you can get involved and be part of a programme that will make you a better person," she implored.

"I benefited from it [Girl Guides] to the extent where I remember that if I was in my bed and at midnight I heard the Jamaican national anthem I would jump out of bed and stand to attention. What [that organization] did for me is to instill a certain amount of patriotism and loyalty to Jamaica. It made me a strong and determined person," she recalled.

In the meantime, she appealed to persons particularly adults, not to turn a blind eye to heinous crime of abuse towards children. "I am asking every adult that is exposed to the knowledge that a child is being abused sexually or otherwise, to break the cycle and report it," she urged.

The Government, she noted, has put in place mechanisms under the Child Care and Protection Act, to assist in protecting the nation's children. "Get involved, as it means saving the life of child. Do the right thing," she stressed.

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