Nigel Cooper calls to 'Hear the Children Cry'

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2026
HTCC CALLS FOR MULTIFACETED ‘ATTACK’ ON DAUNTING COMPLEX OF
DANGERS, DEFICITS AFFECTING JAMAICA’S CHILDREN AND FUTURE
Hear The Children’s Cry (HTCC) has come out in strong support of the National Child Month
Committee’s 2026 theme, “Prioritizing Our Children’s Mental Health: Strong Minds Safer
Future”.

HTCC Director Nigel Cooper and Spokesperson Priscilla Duhaney recognise the Child Month
theme as “a very relevant, timely one that underscores the complexity of the challenges facing
our children in 2026.” In fact, Cooper and Duhaney note that HTCC is pressing for a dynamic,
multifaceted attack on the daunting complex of violent dangers and alarming deficits currently
affecting Jamaica’s children and threatening the nation’s future.
They arc calling for the following:
I. Transform Primary and Secondary School curricula to create well
socially adjusted, critical thinking graduates with level headed, rational behaviour
patterns;
2. Significantly increase the administrative structure in schools;
3. Use Social Development Commission’s (SDC) infrastructure, combined with
that of the National Parenting Commission, NGOs and service clubs, to rapidly
scale interventions;
4. Fund research on Missing Children and Child Trafficking;
5. Create a Ministry of Family and Parenting;
6. Implement Hear The Children’s Cry’s much called for ‘IO Year Disrupt Poor
Parenting Project’.

Mr. Cooper, himself an educator and University of Technology Jamaica Senior Lecturer, notes,
“In his recent budget presentation, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness, noted (p 33) ‘There is
also the social violence that pervades our daily life domestic violence, child abuse, violence in
schools and institutions. These are deeply embedded in our social fabric and will not be resolved
by security operations alone.’ HTCC agrees with the Prime Minister’s assessment of the current
situation.

“We need to transform the curnculum in our primary and secondary schools. The output should
not be merely a graduate with 5 CSEC subjects including Maths and English. The output from
our secondary schools system should also be well socially adjusted, critical thinking graduates,
who think rationally and who can be innovative and relevant for a rapidly changing job or
entrepreneurial opportunity, More than civics, we need leadership, ethics, human/social
relations to be part ofa well designed curriculum.

“Apart from the addition of the Deans of Discipline positions, for most schools, the
administrative structures in our schools have remained similar over the last 30 years. So we are
using a 30 year old model when our society has seen social decay over the same period. Our
schools provide an opportunity to impact the next generation, We therefore need to allocate
significantly more resources to strengthen school administration nationally.
“This would include increasing the number of schools with a Dean of Discipline and ensuring
that Guidance Counselors operate with a I to 500 student ratio, which is generally not the case
in many schools. In the short term, providing funding to NGOs like PALS to provide more Peace
Ambassadors in schools should be supported by both the private sector and the Government”
Miss Duhaney, a Senior Attorney at-Law points out,

“In addition to school administration needing improved support and structure, we need more
security reinforcement and surveillance on the school campus to monitor
maladaptive behaviours. So many of the children are participating in drugs, smoking and
other illicit behaviours that are affecting their mental health. This is manifested in behavioural
changes and uncontrollable behaviour.

“I also believe the curricula should be modified to include mediation techniques and
develop better communication skills. Mediation and restorative justice should be implemented in
the schools, BEFORE matters escalate to a physical exchange.”
The h.vo Hear The Children’s Cry leaders also stress,
“Since 2025, Hear The Children’s Cry has proposed a IO Year Disrupt Poor Parenting
Practise Project to be funded by the Government. We know that changing culture and
behaviours is a long term process. Given the state of the Jamaican society, the scale of the
interventions would need to be extensive, so we are calling for the establishment of a Ministry
of Family and Parenting. This would provide better oversight to the large scale intervention
needed and stand it a better chance of getting adequate funding.

“We believe that the Family needs a voice in our weekly Cabinet meeting. Due to the scale of the
social intervention needed, we are suggesting that the Government use the existing infrastructure
of the Social Development Commission (SDC) and the National Parenting Commission in
collaboration with NGOs and service clubs.”

“HTCC has tracked Missing Children for 1 5 years, and has counselled with over 5,000 families
of missing children,” Mr. Cooper reports, adding, “Usually more than 85 per cent of missing
children return. HTCC is calling for research on the relationship between child trafficking and
missing children to be conducted, and is seeking support from our local universities, the private
sector and Government to get such a study completed. It cannot be that we consistently cannot
find the 80 plus children annually who do not come home. We need answers.”

“Also very important,” Miss Duhaney stresses, “missing children are not just statistics. Their
bereaved family members need closure. Too often the parents, siblings and other family
members and interested parties just cannot come to terms with the heartbreak of a child not returning home. They need sensitive and effective counselling to get the closure they desperately
need.”

Contact: Nigel Cooper, HTCC Director, WhatsApp 876-825-6598,
email ncooperja@gmail.com
Contact: Priscilla Duhaney, Senior Attomey at Law, HTCC Spokesperson,
Whatsapp 876-792-3781
(876) 704-4724 email priscilladuhaney@gmail.com
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