Thwaites urges Christians to offer more than just prayer to youth

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

CHRISTIANS are being told to leave their churches and head to the schools, not just to pray, but also to assist in rescuing troubled youngsters before they turn to a life of crime.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, himself a Roman Catholic deacon, said the transformation of Jamaica requires that all stakeholders step away from their traditional place of abode and assist in a rescue mission for at-risk youth.

"I challenge the members of every church to come out of their pews, the members of the service clubs to come away from their constructive and happy engagement, and come into the schools and offer the mentoring that is necessary," Thwaites said.

The minister, who was speaking at Thursday's Jamaica House press conference, made his address against the background of a survey report produced by the Jamaica Constabulary Force which concluded that the typical inmate in a Jamaican prison is a dropout from a non-traditional high school, who was raised in a broken family.

ENGAGE YOUTH

Thwaites said the Church and other organisations should turn up at schools, and assist, "not just with prayer or to watch a football match", but to engage in "befriending young people, who in the nature of our society have no other option".

The minister has been under fire since he tabled the study in Parliament on Tuesday which names 18 schools. Despite the criticisms, Thwaites said the findings of the study should not be seen as "mantles of disgrace".

"These should produce no tears, but rather should be occasions for us to call for help because the help is available and the help must come from the entire community if we are serious about allaying the scourge of crime," Thwaites said.

"While it has been true in the past that we gave accolades recognition to those who do very well, and that is good, but we believe that the strongest deposit of resources should be made available to those who are weakest and particularly where elements of that weakness are in fact causing great national distress," Thwaites said.

In tabling the survey, Thwaites announced that beginning next month, a programme of diagnosing children with behavioural dysfunction would be implemented. He also said a programme to detect and address disruptive conduct and dropout risks would be implemented by 2015.