School #14 – Haile Selassie High School, St. Andrew: The Final Stop  of the school tour for 2013

All-Island Tour Powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater & Island Grill

“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” One of the greatest humans in history uttered those powerful words, and it is after him that the Talk Up Yout School Tour’s final stop, Haile Selassie High School is named. The Talk Up Yout School tour is sponsored by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater and Island Grill and was accompanied by representatives from the OCR, UNICEF, Steppa and DJ Bambino.

What issues do youths attending school and/or living in Payne Land face? What do they know of the general youth issues in Jamaica? Where do they get help when they need it? These are the questions the Talk Up Yout School tour aimed to answer by way of a panel discussion with 5 students, representing grades 7 to 11 of Haile Selassie High School – Neville McIntosh, Dale Campbell, Raheem Angus, Shelby Parke and Deana-Kay Thomas. The students were joined on the panel by their Guidance Counsellor Jacqueline Bryan, their Vice Principal, Steppa and DJ Bambino.

The discussion was also open to students in the audience who wished to comment or to share their experiences and observations. These issues included Crime and Violence, Rape, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Illiteracy, Unemployment, Lack of Access to Tertiary Education, Bleaching, Premature Sexual Activity, Transactional Sex, Child Prostitution, Bullying, Low Self-Esteem, Peer Pressure, Teenage Pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Diseases, Unprotected Sex, Suicide, Depression, Self-Mutilation, Drug Abuse, Weapons in School, Poor Parenting, Extortion in Schools and Indiscipline.

Many of the students expressed a wish to be better parents than their own parents. The grade 7 representative spoke about his dedication to being a good father, by ensuring that his children would not be allowed to do “certain things” until he dies.

Other students spoke about young girls in their communities who are being “prostituted” by their own mothers, while others turn to transactional sex for money and “pretty clothes”. This discussion encouraged one student to speak up about what she had seen in her community and to issue a strong plea to men in society to leave the little girls alone.

Another issue which sparked much discussion was the issue of bleaching. The general consensus amongst the students of Haile Selassie High was that bleaching is an undesirable activity, which never enhances the beauty of a person, but rather exposes them to various skin diseases and also diminishes their ability to become gainfully employed. Emprezz spoke one-on-one with several students in the audience who were bleaching, asking them why they bleach among other questions. They generally dodged the questions and hid from the camera.

Both DJ Bambino and Steppa had strong messages for the students. DJ Bambino urged them to develop strong identities and a sense of character, so that they will be less susceptible to negative influences from music, musicians and other figures in the entertainment industry.

Steppa spoke about his experiences in Juvenile Correctional Centres, and urged the students to stay positive and on the straight path because he has seen where the “bad man” path leads to and it isn’t a very nice place.

Their Vice Principal and Guidance Counsellors also had similar messages for them, reminding them that they have endless possibilities and they should seek positivity and aim to achieve the highest standard. The students were also spoken to by Child Ambassadors from the OCR, and given Help Stickers from UNICEF.

Endlessly motivating the students, Emprezz empowered them with words from strong black leaders such as Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey. She shared with some unconventional roads to success and urged them to never stop thinking outside of the box and trying to succeed.

Sherry Perrier, an Economic Advisor on the Talk Up Yout School tour, also gave them savings tips and encouraged them to become entrepreneurs through a “Economic Generator” game. The aim of the game was to create a business idea that could, in the space of a year, double the start-up capital of $2000 Jamaican dollars. The winning business idea was a beaded bracelet company, and the student who came up with it was given the $2000.

Finally, after the students on the panel were presented with baskets courtesy of National Baking Company, Haile Selassie High School’s talented Speech Choir and Dancers performed for everyone; a precursor to DJ Bambino’s entertaining performance using his skills on the turn tables.

The Talk Up Yout School Tour 2013, has visited 14 schools, one in each parish of Jamaica, and on this tour we have encountered negative issues, positive students and pro-active school administrators. It will take constant effort on the part of all stakeholders to fix these issues. Therefore, it is time we rallied around our children and gave them the support they need. Follow @TalkUpYout on twitter, Talk Up Yout TV Show on Facebook, visit our blog and Youtube page, and find out how you can help these youths. Be an agent of Social Change, Shatter the Silence and remember to always Talk Up Yout.

Written by Kristeena Monteith

School Stop #13 – Manchester High School

All-Island Tour Powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater & Island Grill

 Manchester High School in Mandeville had the lucky distinction of being the 13th stop on the Talk Up Yout School Tour which is sponsored by Emprezz Golding, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater and Island Grill. With a motto like “Sic Luceat Lux” which roughly translates to “So Shines the Light” the enlightened students shed light on many of the issues being faced by youths in Manchester and Jamaica at large.

Emprezz led the panel which consisted of students from grades 7 to 13 Alex Blackwood, Michale Simpson, Davaughn McAnuff, Alyssa Boothe, Steven-Paul McLean and Kerice Coke the Head Girl. Also on the panel was their Guidance Counsellor Ms Althea Brown. Representatives from the NCYD – Keitho Nembhard and OCR – Paulette Laing were also present to give advice about their particular organizations to the students.

Emprezz opened the discussion by asking the students to speak about their individual observations as it regards issues in their school, parish and country, then she asked students in the audience to volunteer to answer the same question. This yielded issues such as Lack of Role Models, Loss of Values and Morals, Unnecessary and Impractical Subjects, Small Classrooms, Substance Abuse – especially Cannabis Sativa (ganja or marijuana), Crime and Violence, Peer Pressure, Lack of Practical Education for example: Entrepreneurship Classes, Ineffective Governance of the Country, Physical and Mental Abuse, Materialism, Mental Slavery and Lack of Access to Tertiary Education.

Students expressed powerful and sometimes controversial opinions on the issues such as the Role of the Church in Education, Mental Slavery and the Role of the Government. One student was of the opinion that Europe and American did not “underdevelop” Africa, rather that Africans sold their brothers into slavery for selfish reasons. This idea was challenged both by the students around him and by Emprezz who reminded him that things are never as simple as that. She expanded the thought by pointing to the fact that many of these “Selfish Africans” were themselves captured and threatened with violence to capture their fellow Africans.

One student openly voiced her opinion that there are no role models in this country. Others bashed churches for secularizing and becoming profit-driven multi-billion dollar industries. Another spoke about his experience with a particular church whose pastor refuses to continue with him sermon unless there is more than $30,000 in the Collection plate.

However in the spirit of uplifting and empowering youths, Emprezz challenged the students to research the avenues for success. If you want to be a pilot, google successful pilots and read their stories, find out how they got there and use their lives as your map to success. The Representative from the NCYD Keitho Nembhard also encouraged the students to actively protest against the lack of accessible educational opportunities in Jamaica. He urged them to be the change they want to see, and in the spirit of Youth Month to “Reset di Ting.”

After the students were given words of encouragement from the Talk Up Yout Economic Advisors Sherry Perrier and Aaron Ramsey, as well baskets from National Baking Company and Help Stickers, Manchester High School’s Theatre Group entertained everyone present with a Drama Piece and Dub Poem, bringing another successful day to a close.

Quote of the Day: “A people without industry and commerce will perish.” Marcus Garvey

WHO CAN GUESS THE PARISH OF THE FINAL STOP OF THE TALK UP YOUT SCHOOL TOUR???

Written by Kristeena Monteith

School #12 – Westwood High School

All-Island Tour Powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater & Island Grill

 – In their navy blue uniforms, crisp white blouses and jippi-jappa hats, the young ladies of Westwood High School stand out. However, what really distinguishes them among their peers is their effortless intelligence, grace and poise.

The Talk Up Yout School Tour which is powered by Emprezz Golding, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater and Island Grill journeyed to Stewart Town, Trelawny to talk up with the students of Westwood High School. They were accompanied by representatives of the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) Nicholas Mayne and Rhonda Walker-Walters and DJ Bambino.

The school hosts two types of students: Boarders and “Day-girls” who commute, however they both agree that Jamaican youths face many issues such as Abuse, Teenage Pregnancy, Loss of Values and Morals, Crime and Violence, Juvenile Delinquency, Homosexuality, Shadeism and other Racial Issues, Premature Sexual Activity, Poor Governance, Bleaching, The Influence of the Media, The Debt Crisis and Low Self-Esteem.

One of the issues which the girls were most excited to talk about was predictably their interaction with boys. According to them, girls sometimes get themselves into potentially harmful situations out of the fear of rejecting a “cute” boy; an issue which they believe is rooted in the problem of low self-esteem.

A student also voiced her opinion on the state of the education system and described it as “woefully lacking.” In her opinion, students are not being prepared for life outside of high school, because they are not being taught “Civics” and “Logics”. She believes high school students are expected to suddenly grow up and understand everything once they graduate, but they are not actually taught many of the necessary survival skills.

That sentiment is a common one as students at all of the other schools previously visited on the Talk Up Yout School Tour have expressed some sort of fear of the future as it regards how they will survive after high school. The ladies of Westwood High School were also concerned about the state of the country: the behemoth debt crisis, the import to export ratio and the role of politicians in fixing these problems.

They also had much to say on the issue of entertainers leading young children astray with their lyrics which prompted DJ Bambino to ask, “What school is Vybz Kartel the principal of?” He encouraged the girls to think for themselves and recognize the fact that the entertainment industry is primarily aimed at entertaining not educating. Emprezz also reminded them that they need to have strength of character; they should know what they stand for and learn to uphold their morals.

At the end of the day’s discussion the representatives of the NCYD spoke to the young ladies about the purpose of their organization and how they help students in the parish of Trelawny. The students were given help stickers courtesy of UNICEF and the panellists were given baskets from National Bakery, after which DJ Bambino entertained everyone present with his skills on the turntables.

Quote of the Day: “Jamaicans love foreign things. Perhaps we should manufacture goods, send them to America and let them write “Made in America” on them then send them back. Everyone would buy them.”

Next Stop: Manchester High School, Manchester

Written by: Kristeena Monteith

School #11 – Marcus Garvey Technical High School

All-Island Tour Powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater & Island Grill

Named after Jamaica’s first National Hero and one of the greatest minds to have ever lived, Marcus Garvey Technical High School is the modern manifestation of a great legacy. The Technical High School has much to be proud of including recent successes in school boy football and a commendable track record in the All Together Sing Competition however when Talk Up Yout visited the school on Tuesday 11th of November, the students were singing another tune.

They spoke about issues such as Pre-Mature Sexual Activity, Teenage Pregnancy, Poor Governance, Delinquent Parents, Juvenile Delinquency, Crime and Violence, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infections, Suicide, Unemployment, Smoking, The Influence of the Media and Transactional Sex and expressed very strong emotions, even challenging the traditional opinions on several topics.

The Talk Up Yout School Tour which is powered by Emprezz Golding, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater and Island Grill was accompanied by a representative of the Office of the Children’s Registry, Julia Smiley-Green and the President of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Steven Golding.

So what do the students of Marcus Garvey Technical High have to say? Firstly, they believe parents in Jamaica are underperforming. Several students spoke of situations they’ve heard of where parents send their young girls out of the home to have sex with older men for money. More shocking was the allegation that some parents force their children to employ skin-lightening techniques such as bleaching, while threatening to “put them out” if they resist.

This issue prompted Mr Golding to read to the students an excerpt of Marcus Garvey’s writings from 1921 chronicling the publication of advertisements for skin-bleaching creams and Garvey’s personal distaste for the practice and his efforts to stymie its proliferation. Regardless of that information one student staunchly defended the practice by asking questions such as “Why do they make bleaching cream, if we are not supposed to bleach? Why do they make Rizla if we are not supposed to smoke?” Mr Golding was obviously concerned with the student’s perception of bleaching and went to great lengths to correct the faulty logic which he was using to justify the action.

That faulty logic revealed itself again throughout the entire discussion, proving the veracity of Mr Golding’s initial statement “Having had the wrong kind of education, the Negro has become his own greatest enemy.” However, the beautiful thing about the students was that they were open to having their views challenged and were able to see reason eventually.

The students openly chastised their political representatives and criticized the lack of youth programs, employment opportunities and educational facilities. They shared stories of their fear of the future as it regards their lives after high school. Once again 95% of the students present were unaware of the existence of the OCR prompting Mrs Smiley-Green to educate the students about all such entities in Jamaica.

It would be accurate to say the theme of the day was “Knowledge is Power” which is an adage the Talk Up Yout School Tour believes wholeheartedly. There was a mutual exchange of knowledge at Marcus Garvey Technical High. The students shared their first-hand knowledge of youth issues and Emprezz and her team shared their expertise and advice on navigating the tumultuous waters of teenage existence. The students thanked Emprezz profusely for the opportunity to talk about their feelings and issues and entreated her to come again soon.

Quote of the Day: “There are factions within society, both in Jamaica and the World at large that wish to keep you ignorant. They want you to stay in the dirt, because when you’re down there killing each other and behaving like animals, you don’t have time or intelligence to notice that they’re enjoying the wealth that could have been yours with education.”

-       Steven Golding.

Next Stop: Westwood High School, Trelawny

Written by: Kristeena Monteith for Talk UP Yout

School Stop #10 – Belmont Academy

All-Island Tour Powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater & Island Grill

Jamaica has many hidden treasures; beautiful tourist attractions nestled into lush, verdant forests off the beaten track. It is a sentiment which must be applied to our people. The Talk Up Yout School Tour journeyed to Bluefields, Westmoreland to talk to the students of one of Jamaica’s hidden treasures: Belmont Academy.

Founded in 2009, this school boasts an impressive campus, and according to their principal Mr Rayon Simpson, the best teachers and best students in Jamaica. The Talk Up Yout School Tour which is powered by Emprezz Golding, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater and Island Grill has visited 9 schools in Jamaica so far, with the aim of facilitating discussion about issues which affect the youths in Jamaica, with the youths in Jamaica. A representative from the OCR, the Youth Ambassadors from this region and Recording Artist Nesbeth were also present on Wednesday’s trip to Belmont Academy.

The students of Belmont Academy had many issues to talk up about. They spoke of Crime and Violence, Scamming, Child Abuse and Child Prostitution, Rape, Poor Rural Transportation, Homosexuality, Bleaching, Lack of Support Services for Children, Poor Parenting, Drug Abuse, Street Children, Teenage Pregnancy and Corruption in the Justice System. The School was represented by students Demar Brown, De’Angelies Forrester, Rajay Dockery, Shantoy Martin, Bosworth Ewen and Sydia Fraser on the panel.

According to 4th form Shantoy Martin student Westmoreland has an extremely high rate of Teenage Pregnancy. Her fellow students supported her by saying that this phenomenon has caused issues such as Street Children and Child Abuse to proliferate in the absence of proper parenting. Almost every student raised their hand when Emprezz asked them if they knew a student or teenager who had been impregnated.

Another issue which the students thought was pertinent was the poor transportation systems in rural Jamaica. Another 4th Form student Bosworth Ewen remarked that the combined effect of poorly maintained road systems and taxi operators who refuse to transport children contributes to the poor attendance of students. According to him, taxi operators receive more money from fares if they transport adults so they refuse to transport children.

Many students expressed dissatisfaction with the Government especially as it regards their policies towards children however Mr Simpson pointed out that the Member of Parliament for Eastern Westmoreland, the Honourable Luther Buchanan allocates a significant amount of funds towards paying school fees for needy children. Mr Simpson chided parents who do not need this help but seek it because it is available as, in his opinion, Mr Buchanan could have used some of that money to fix the roads.

Despite the presence of representatives form UNICEF and the OCR many of the students admitted to being unaware of the existence of such bodies. Emprezz urged them to use social media websites more effectively to educate and empower themselves. She also related to them her journey to success which was paved with doing many menial jobs, and working her way to where she is now. She got particularly animated after only two students raised their hands when asked if they were willing to do janitorial work in order to pay for college.

Nesbeth, encouraged the students to work hard and told them to model their lives around the 4 D’s of Success- Dedication, Determination, Discipline and Desire. He also performed several of his most popular songs for the students.

Talk Up Yout Economic Advisers Sherry Perrier and Aaron Ramsey gave the students savings tips, and general financial advice. Both Sherry and Aaron are final year students at the University of the West Indies, their tuition being paid by scholarships. They encouraged the students to apply to every scholarship they can find, never lose hope, go beyond the call of duty, always challenge themselves, because only then, will they improve.

The students were given help stickers with information on where to find help, if they ever need it and the panellists were given baskets courtesy of National Baking Company and Purewater.

Nest Stop on the Talk Up Yout School Tour: Westwood High School, Trelawny.

Written by: Kristeena Monteith

School Stop #9 – Tacky High School-TALK UP YOUT

All-Island Tour Powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater & Island Grill

How well do you know your children? Do you talk to them about their issues? Do you educate them and empower them to be agents of the social change you want to see in Jamaica? Do you give them the skills necessary to survive their generation?

The Talk Up Yout School Tour visited Tacky High School in St. Mary recently and gave the students there the opportunity to talk about these things. This initiative is powered by Emprezz, UNICEF, National Baking Company, Purewater and Island Grill and this stop on the tour was accompanied by representatives from the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network, National Centre for Youth Development and the Office of the Children’s Registry.

The first step to helping youths in Jamaica to achieve their full potential is to find their issues and ameliorate them. The students of Tacky High School spoke about issues such as Weak or Inadequate Political Representation, Crime and Violence, Issuing Condoms in School, The Economy, The High Cost of Education, Teenage Pregnancy, Child Abuse in all its various forms, Suicide, Lack of Adequate Rural Transportation Systems, Premature Sexual Activity and Transactional Sex in Minors. They also gave solutions to these problems and recommended actions to be taken by the major stakeholders in their lives.

The students of Tacky High School mentioned that they want to talk about their issues with their parents but more often than not their parents do not want to listen. They urged Talk Up Yout to have a session with their parents. They also had much to say about the inadequacies of their Member of Parliament. However, Emprezz encouraged the students to find solutions to their own problems instead of relying on politicians or the government.

They came up with solutions which involved their communities working together for the welfare of everyone and were enthusiastic about their ability to change their own situations. The teachers at Tacky High School are undoubtedly proud of their students who has nothing but glowing praises for their teachers, especially their Principal who apparently buys water for the students because the school is not supplied with water from the NWC.

The students also impressed their regional Youth Empowerment Officer Omar Marston who showered them with praises for being one of the best schools in St. Mary and reminded them to always hold their heads high and work hard for all the things they wish to achieve.

Representatives of the Office of the Children’s Registry and the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network were also on site to provide information to the students. They were given financial advice from Talk Up Yout Economic Advisors, Aaron Ramsey and Sherry Perrier and help stickers with information on where to get help or counselling in their time of need.

After all the serious talk, the students were treated to a performance from Reggae Artiste “Jah Bouks” who also, in his colourful and unique vernacular, tried to give the youths positive messages about themselves and their power as future leaders. He reminded them to live “upful” as he would say.

Next Stop: Belmont Academy, Westmoreland.