We Must Do More To Protect Our Children

-
Undoubtedly, Jamaica’s children are at risk. The appalling and horrendous beheading of second form student Kayalicia Simpson of the Donald Quarrie High School clearly reinforces this sad reality which has become common place for many of our children. Ironically, on the day when the nation’s schools were commemorating and celebrating Peace Day the life of this promising fourteen year girl was being snuffed out.
Disturbingly, since the start of the year fifteen children have been brutally murdered. Alarmingly, with each murder of a child the social consciousness and psyche of the society seems unmoved.  A routine has developed we can expect the articulate minority in the society to write a few letters, however, after the dust has settled it will be business as usual. The society clearly needs a spiritual awakening to stem the tide of murders wrecking havoc on the nation’s children. Our children are our most prized possession. We must do much more to protect them and as such safeguard the nation’s future.
Poverty continues to endanger the lives of our children. The children of the poor and working class are at more risk than those children of well to do families.
It is so sad that in a modern age a student had to go outside at 4 am to use a bathroom.
We all have failed our children. May God grant the family of the deceased the strength to carry on during this time of their bereavement.

Wayne Campbell
waykam@yahoo.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insecticides, Air Travel And Safety

-
Image
We are not insects, we are human beings. To travel by air is a privilege. Air travel is a costly adventure as well.   Those of us who have been fortunate to travel oftentimes experience some amount of excitement leading up to that moment. This heightened sense of emotion happens to almost all of us irrespective of whether we are a frequent flyer or a first timer. This buzz never goes away regardless of whether you travel economy or first class. However, for some folks there is a sense of nervousness during travel. There are numerous lessons we can learn whenever we travel. For example, our outlook on life is often altered due to the interaction with other peoples and cultures. Once the airplane takes off and you begin to ascend into the clouds, sometimes of altitude unbelievable to those without this experience, one can feel like someone who is imprisoned until your flight lands and you disembark. It is usually at those altitudes that the airline crew informs you that they are going to
Read more

Vessels of Honour: Celestial Treasures

-
Image
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”- Psalm 51:10. Many of us have a skewed understanding of God our creator. In many instances we believe or are led to believe that in order to be used by God we must be pure and sinless. This tainted view undoubtedly also impacts our relationships we have with God. Having such a distorted view of God and what God demands from us oftentimes lead us into disobedience. The same is true concerning the weight of condemnation. It is for this reason why it is critical for us to spend time in the Word of God which is the Bible. We all need to know God for ourselves. We often make excuses to study the Bible, yet, we will spend hours on social media or hours gossiping people’s business. Nowhere is gossiping more pronounced than in the church. The church as we know it is not a place of honesty. Why do I say this? Oftentimes we turn to the church in our moments of weakness and vulnerability yet, the solace and compassion that
Read more

Interrogating Black Fatherhood

-
Image
“What I've realized is that life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children all of our children a better world. Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”- Barack Obama. Fatherhood, especially black fatherhood oftentimes is not as celebrated as it should. As a result we continue to hear of the arguments surrounding my mother who fathered me. There are specific roles concerning the sexes and frankly speaking mothers cannot father children, likewise fathers cannot mother children. Indeed as a society we need to move the discussion away from these examples of oxymoron. This flawed premise has been around so long and unfortunately has become normalized in many societies. However, the time has come for us to have a serious and honest discussion as this argument must be interrogated and replaced with a sense of responsibility. In fact, there is one m
Read more