Jamaican Researcher » Development rights

Mainstreaming rights in community work

jamresearcher — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:19:46 +0000

November 2009 is the month I turned 30–quite a milestone–It was the most hectic that I can recall in years.

For the majority of the time, I was engaged in research on HIV prevention for Jamaican youth–which culminated in a presentation of findings (Securing our Future_ Presentation) and the distribution of the Report, which is featured in the my previous post.

Port Antonio, Portland, Jamaica

In addition to that research, I was very busy traveling across the Jamaica, visiting five Social Development Commission (SDC) offices–Portland, Trelawny, St. Thomas, Kingston and St. Andrew, and St. James–to deliver key human rights materials, as part of the thrust to mainstream human rights (HR) in the everyday work of SDC community development officers.

The main training material that I used was the SEJ Community Development Manual for Trainers, which outlines the modules, subjects, presentations, forms and other useful tools for introducing residents to their development rights and responsibilities.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Jamaicans for Justice and the Social Development Commission in October 2009 sought to establish a partnership aimed at strengthening its officers for more effective community development programming. The commitment included:

Delivery of five training of trainers workshops to 65 participants,
Execution of a national print (newspaper, brochures and posters) and electronic (radio) multimedia campaign for four months,
Facilitation of nine community workshops across three unique communities and parishes reaching a minimum of 75 residents,
Establishment of an archive of HR materials in key locations in the parish, which are accessible to the public,
Integration of HR components in the annual plans of SDC officers as at March 2010,
Integration of HR as a key topic/ sub-topic in presentations by SDC officers to community leaders, etc.,
Distribution of digital support materials on HR to SDC officers in order to build their knowledge base on HR.

At a later date, when I’ve evaluated the key components of the MOU, I will publish the SWOT report, but preliminarily, all stakeholders agree that HR awareness is critical for community development.

Lobbying for Economic and Social Justice in Jamaica

jamresearcher — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:07:27 +0000

Hello World. I am really inspired that advocacy is being practiced increasingly in social justice work. This inspiration stimulated me to conduct tutorials on advocacy, because I have a wealth of information and materials from years of practice. Though it may take years to achieve desired goals, advocacy is one of the most certain strategies for influencing top-tier leaders. In this post I will share some of the materials that I designed for supporting local/ community advocacy initiatives, but it is by no means the tutorial of which I spoke. I am thinking of video tutorials. In the meantime here are few useful instruments…

Advocacy Letter

Petition Form

Advocacy Meeting Brief

Introduction to Economic and Social or Development Rights

jamresearcher — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:02:06 +0000

This is one of the main training tools that I use to increase awareness about development rights. Residents love when I deliver this presentation, because they learn about their natural entitlements, as well as the responsibilities of Government, private organizations, and citizens. You see, in Jamaica education about human rights is not mainstreamed in the school system, and people’s rights are routinely breached by anyone who feels they know a little more than another. Lack of knowledge also leads to hindrances, such as the denial of human rights because of ignorance. I believe that every Jamaican should access the information presented in this PowerPoint, so here goes… Introduction to Economic & Social Rights