Children at Play

If you visit Jamaican rural and inner-city communities you will notice an absence of properly equipped playgrounds for children. The typical social space in the average community is comprised of a football field, suited with a cricket pitch and a club house, where community meetings are facilitated. A space where children and the young at heart can scream and interface with tools that provide opportunities for individual, supervised and group play, as depicted in the photos presented throughout this article, are rare.

Individual Play

I am young at heart and I must say that this playground delighted me much. I tried out everything and screamed like the kids when things got intense. Residents informed me that it has become a favorite hang out spot for many youth from across the various inner-city communities of Kingston, Jamaica. Face-to-face conversations, as well as direct traffic of youth, throughout my visits, revealed that various age groups came to enjoy the rides–Jamaicans and non-Jamaicans, residents of surrounding communities, and as far as St. Catherine. It was also visible that children were able to play according to their pace and preference while guardians socialized.

Youth conversing

In addition, the variety of activities that are available to the disposal of children facilitate healthy and non-combative play. This playground, residents say has its biggest crowd in the dusk hours of the day. They say that the soldiers who watch by Heroes Park play a vital role in restricting the times of use–otherwise children will play right around the clock. For the young people of the communities surrounding Heroes Circle, the playground is a breath of fresh air–we don’t feel hungry when we are here, no one thinks about war between their communities, we meet and talk to new people, and there is a lot of safe fun at no cost.

Playground

The playground benefits from protection provided courtesy of the officers on duty at the National Heroes Park–which is seen as an integral element of patrons’ feelings of safety. It also benefits from the protection of Jamaica’s national heroes, whose monuments are visible in the background. Aside from this site, patrons with whom I conversed could name only one other location, the Hope Garden and Zoo, where children could interact. Its rating was very low because of its cost, distance from the communities, and lack of interactive tools. Many patrons admitted that the slides were a first time experience, as well as many of the other rides. The excitement in the faces of the users and the increasing numbers of patrons that streamed in, as the evening got later, were definite signs of the potential of this small playground in bringing about cohesiveness amongst the children of Kingston, as well as within and across their communities.

Monument in background of playground at Heroes Park

My visits to this playground have reassured me that peace and unity within inner-city and poor communities, affected by crime and violence and inadequate realization of economic and social rights, is achievable. Providing opportunities for positive interaction is critical, which this–historic, colorful, dynamic and centrally located–playground has done quite successfully.

Now that it is operating and has a steady following, there is need to pay attention to the issue of maintenance; as an examination of the structure revealed the need for a system to ensure that the various components are kept in their optimum condition, in response to heavy usage and wear and tear. The big question here is: Who will take ownership of the maintenance function–users, surrounding communities, private sector, Government, or the implementing organizations/ donors? If we fail to mobilize support around maintenance of the playground it will not exist long enough to be a meaningful contributor to community cohesiveness and the fulfillment of the donors’ desire that it will be an instrument through which,  “God [will] bless the children of Kingston, Jamaica.”

Donor Board

Havana, Cuba

The Cuban Revolution has stirred many emotions and opinions from various people and different parts of the world. For me, a Jamaican who grew up in the later stages of the Cold War, the word Cuba was sure to cause stir in any fora–you would be sure to hear the Cuban leadership being chided for the denial of the rights of people to own personal assets like modern cars and posh homes.

When we dare to examine Cuba’s human rights track record in economic and social rights however, it leaves us wondering if our leaders are sleeping. In my line of work modeling and best practices are critical for sustainable development. If we fail to learn from the experiences of others we will continuously make the same mistakes. This article seeks to highlight some human rights achievements of Cuba, which Jamaica must model if we as a society and Government are serious about poverty reduction, the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and ensuring for all equality and equity.

Extract from The Sunday Gleaner (11/01/09): In Focus “CASTRO absolved by history…almost” by Robert Buddan:

1. The Cuban Revolution recognized at the outset that people had a right to development. The Revolution had pioneered this application of human rights as inclusive of social and economic rights. World history caught up with the idea 30 year later in the form of the UN resolution in 1986.
2. The UN aimed to eliminate extreme poverty by 2015, an objective Cuba had also set for itself and had achieved long before.
3. Cuba is the only country that has put the right to work, food, shelter, education, and health in its constitution and satisfied those rights.
4. Cuban democracy is a disciplined democracy, which is why crime and idleness are virtually absent…while the Caribbean has the highest murder rate in the world Cuba has the lowest.
5. Cuba has the capacity to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people at short notice in energy conservation, food production, hurricane evacuation and national defence.
6. Cuba’s urban farming initiative has recovered by 97 percent in only a few months after three devastating hurricanes in 2008. Cuba has set a new record in tourist arrivals despite those hurricanes because the country was able to repair hotels quickly and tourists had a great sense of safety.
7. It was recently announced that foreign travel by government officials will be cut by 50 percent, which will save US$60 million.
8. Cuba evacuated 2.6 million persons (the population of Jamaica) in one case and found shelter for all of them. Hurricane-related deaths are rare in Cuba. Few countries, if any, have the capacity to mobilise on this scale or emergency governance.
9. Despite its crisis, Cuba’s economy grew by 4.6 percent in 2008 while other economies were flat.
10. The UN has done well to launch the MDG, but in the last eight years, no country has made such a difference in the lives of poor people of other countries than Cuba has.
11. There are 108 foreign missions accredited in Havana, making Havana the diplomatic city of the Caribbean.
12. Cuba has 51, 000 volunteers in 96 countries, making Cuba’s people-based diplomacy  difficult for any other country to match.
13. Cuban doctors have restored the sight of over one million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, an achievement that goes well beyond anything that the UN or the developed countries have achieved in the developing world.
14. Cuba has more doctors per capita than any other country in the world.
15. Cuba has the highest number of teachers per capita  in the world.
16. Illiteracy is 0.2 percent in Cuba.
17. Child mortality is the best among developing countries and better than that for many developed countries.
18. Life expectancy is 78 years, at the level of developed countries.

Nothing in life is perfect, neither is Cuba, but I am sure you will agree, based on the records that Buddan discusses–Cuba is a contemporary model for state-led prioritisation and respect for human rights and people-centered development. Jamaicans love to look across the sea to Singapore when they are talking about development modeling, but I believe more fertile soil lay 90 miles away in a society that is extremely similar to ours in its history, population, cultural retentions and practices, geography, location, and size.

Check out this video on the disregard for environmental rights in the Bauxite/ Alumina Industry in Jamaica.

Take a look at the experiences of residents in these videos…

If the community residents and leaders cannot access their Parish Council, which was created to lead parish and local development, then how can we guarantee the realization of our fundamental rights and freedoms as citizens?  The lack of realization of one right inhibits the ability to realize others, as such residents who are affected by bad roads, crime, poor transportation, limited food, and inadequate shelter are unable to live in full human dignity. If we are to realize the MDGs, Parish Councils and citizens must work together and respect each other!

In October 2008, internal and external leaders of Albion in St. Thomas (Jamaica) were mobilized to my Advocacy Planning Workshop (APW) to discuss critical issues to be addressed by community-based organizations (CBOs) as they prepared themselves for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Key among the items were the need to: Acquire land for the development of a community center and multipurpose sporting complex; Improve police patrols in order to curtail the rise in petty crimes (break-ins and theft); Resurface roads; Bush empty lots; Control the development of informal settlements in adjoining areas; Control land erosion and flooding from Cow Bay; and Fence the pump house that supplies water to the community.

Mr. Ishmael Robertson, who represented the Member of Parliament, Hon. James Robertson, his son, articulated that the Secretary Manager of the St. Thomas Parish Council had portfolio responsibility for addressing the majority of the issues raised. He lamented the absence of that office and advised leaders to write a letter to them expressing extreme disappointment and the need for a meeting to address the issues raised.

From my experience on the Social and Economic Justice (SEJ) Project, I have not seen the Secretary Manger or any other representative of that office make an effective attempt to participate in or address issues of community development. I have worked in four unique communities: Albion Mountain, Albion, Morant Bay, and Springfield, and not once have they responded to our invitation to meet the leaders of the community and work with them in changing experiences of injustice.

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APWs were designed to sensitize leaders about advocacy, leadership, networking, group development, and communications, so that they would be better prepared to contribute meaningfully to community development.