Lay Magistrates, police fete children
Published:Monday | August 20, 2018 | 12:00 AMCorey Robinson/Staff Reporter
More than 500 children were feted at a back-to-school health and legal fair put on by the Lay Magistrates' Association of Jamaica (Kingston Chapter) and the Kingston Central Police.
The children were given free school supplies and stationery, and were treated to free medical and dental check-ups at the event held at the St William Grant Park in Kingston.
Allman Town Primary School pupil Tremaine Grant, top-performing male Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) student in the division this year, was among three children given sponsorship cheques valued at a total of $70,000.
Mark Gonzales, president of the Lay Magistrates' Association of Jamaica, said the fair was well needed in central Kingston which is home to several impoverished communities.
"We saw the need of the residents of Kingston. Some of the parents would not be able to afford the essential back-to-school items. So we are giving away school bags, books, pencils, just about all the basic things that the students would need," Gonzales told The Gleaner.
"We keep other functions, but Kingston often gets neglected, so we thought it was necessary to keep our function here, and to interact and give back to the people of Kingston," continued Gonzales.
Head of the Kingston Central Police Division, Superintendent Robert Gordon, described the fair as very important for the division.
"It's important for more reasons than one, and it shows that the police have a caring side despite what the general view might be. It is all a part of the package of offering quality policing to the citizens that we serve," he said.
"We are handing out back-to-school items, but we are also having one-on-one interaction with parents as well as with children. We are speaking to them about safety and security, and how to treat with children with behavioural challenges and where help can be had," he added.