UNICEF

Marcia Gordon, a teacher at the UNICEF-supported Denham Town Basic School in the Denham Town community in the parish of Kingston and St. Andrew in Jamaica, helps a boy wash his hands at an outdoor water point outside the school. Many poor families cannot afford pre-school fees, books or uniforms, so their children do not attend school regularly.

In Jamaica, children continue to suffer hardships wrought by a fragile economy, pervasive violence and poverty. Violence in the home, in schools and in communities continues to affect children, who comprise more than 37 per cent of the population of 2.7 million. Girls are vulnerable to sexual abuse, while boys are often the victims of assault. Gang activity has increased, with gang members enlisting children to conceal their weapons. Children’s rights to education and leisure activities have been compromised by unrelenting levels of crime, forcing school closures due to civil disturbances. UNICEF supports violence prevention, reduction and mitigation programmes and other integrated care and protection services for vulnerable children and young people, including: child-friendly safe spaces in violence-prone communities; mediation, conflict management, peace promotion and life-skills training for adolescents in inner-city communities; improved access to psychosocial services for children and families; remedial education; skills development and counselling; income-generating activities; and rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for out of school children, including those living or working on the streets. UNICEF also supports quality education and early childhood development. The latter programme also aims to improve the quality and accessibility of health services for younger children and their mothers.
 
© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-0299/Susan Markisz
 
http://www.unicef.org