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JAM | Jul 3, 2022

Youths recognised for child safety awareness poster competition designs

/ Our Today

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Shamara Chin (left), winner in the Bustamante Hospital for Children poster competition, is presented with her trophy by Karlene Taylor-McKenzie (right), administrator at the hospital, while mother of the student, Nina Brown, looks on during a ceremony held at the hospital in St Andrew on June 30. (Photo: JIS)

Several children have been awarded for participating in a Bustamante Hospital for Children poster design competition for primary schools which was aimed at heightening child safety awareness.

The competition was staged as part the Bustamante Hospital’s Child Month activities in May, and was supported by the private sector.

It was geared at sensitising parents and caregivers about critical interventions that should be put in place to safeguard children ages 3 to 17 against the ingestion of corrosive substances and to prevent other serious injuries.

‘WE ARE HERE TO ENSURE OUR CHILDREN ARE SAFE’

Addressing the prize-giving ceremony at the hospital on June 30, Dr Michelle-Ann Richards Dawson, senor medical officer, said there was a need to hear from the children on how their safety should be enhanced, and “we are here to ensure that our children are safe”.

Richards Dawson said a big part of injuries to children had to do with supervision, and that the “whole aim of our campaign was prevention, because when some things happen, they have life-long implications”.

In the meantime, Ta’amara Irvine Strachan, patient affairs manager at the hospital, reported that an increase in injuries to children was a concern to the institution, and, as social workers, it was their duty to empower parents on ways to protect children, which led to the launch of the campaign.

Shamara Chin (right), winner in the Bustamante Hospital for Children poster competition, points to her artwork at the prize giving ceremony, held on June 30, at the hospital, in St Andrew, while looking on (from left) are Raynique Gordon (second place), Tequan Blackwood (third place) and Karlene Taylor-McKenzie, administrator at the hospital. (Photo: JIS)

“It was important for us to send a message of child protection and safety on a greater scale. We wanted persons, nationally, to know what it is that they need to do to protect their children. We also wanted the children to know their rights and what they can do to safeguard themselves,” she said.

Among the partners in the campaign were the Ministry of Health and Wellness, through the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA); the Ministry of Education and Youth; Global Media Services; I-Print Digital Jamaica; Nu U Limited; Dr. Book Wiggles; Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, and Worldwide Technology.

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