Letter of the Day | Sir, we a family, enuh ... where we a guh stay?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

After the fire at the Jamaica National Children’s Home (JNCH), a question raised to the prime minister on August 11, 2019, by one of the children, “Where we a guh stay, sir?”, still remains unanswered, and her plea for children to stay together at their home in Papine – that is seemingly forgotten?

It has been a long journey. Abused, neglected, and abandoned children, abruptly removed from their broken homes, with little to nothing of their own, brought to a place of safety, a place once called home, the JNCH in Papine, with other children and caregivers who’ve now become a new-formed family.

On August 9, 2019, the children’s world changed yet again. A fire destroyed parts of the home making it unliveable; this was the third fire at three different children’s homes from 2015 to 2019 in Jamaica. All 41 children (23 girls and 18 boys) and seven caregivers were thankfully uninjured. The children and staff were relocated to Homestead Place of Safety, Stony Hill.

REASSURANCE

The children were reassured that their home in Papine would be rebuilt. An article in The Gleaner of August 11, 2019 said that “Prime Minister Andrew Holness has indicated that his administration will be moving quickly to rebuild the 46-year-old Papine-based Jamaica National Children’s Home”.

Twenty-eight months after the fire, the uncertainty of the home being rebuilt increases. Meanwhile, school grades are plummeting. Unfortunately, but understandably, the children have experienced an education setback as a direct result of relocation as majority of the students attend school in the Papine area.

We are pleading, as concerned citizens of Jamaica, home and abroad, on behalf of the children, for the Jamaica National Children’s Home to be rebuilt for the children’s safety, educational advancement, and mental well-being.

Thanks for your help in advance.

AYANA MACKEY