HELP FOR JAMAICA’S MISSING CHILDREN’S CRISIS

On September 17, 2008, 11 year-old Ananda Dean went missing. Ten days later her body was found. She had been abducted on her way home from school and brutally murdered. Ananda’s case spurred us into action, and in 2009, one year after her death, Hear The Children’s Cry established our Missing Children’s Support Programme. Today, we remain the only Jamaican non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting missing children and their families, and a member of the Global Missing Children’s Network (GMCN). The efforts of our organization led to the naming and introduction of the Ananda Alert, Jamaica’s first Rapid Response system for missing and abducted children. Ananda Dean had been a student in Hear The Children’s Cry’s youth ministry for several years. For 20 years, Hear The Children’s Cry, Jamaica’s most dynamic voluntary child welfare organization has been providing urgently needed services for Jamaican children and young people, many of whom face daunting odds and severe economic challenges. These include an islandwide Schools Safety Programme and Positive Parenting Education Outreaches, Family Counseling and Community Support, Public Education on Child Rights and Needs, a Prevent-A-Dropout Programme, a Special Educational Support Initiative for formerly missing children and Youth Employment Opportunities. We need your help to raise US$100,000 that would allow us to continue our vital, life-saving services and programmes. Your donations will be used to provide the following:

1. Transportation, Traveling, and additional Family Support expenses for our Runaway Prevention Programme, involving face-to-face and community outreaches.
2. School Re-Integration Programme – sustaining and expanding our work with formerly missing children and their parents to ensure that they complete their education and achieve high school graduation. Our assistance also includes school fees and school materials – books, electronic devices, school uniforms, bus fares and lunch money.
   
3. Acquisition of a mobile custom-fitted mini-van for our Counseling Clinic on Wheels Initiative that will take our vital services to every Jamaican community.
   
4. Schools' Safety Programme - providing children of all ages (Basic, Primary & Secondary) with life-saving tips on how to keep themselves safe, involving workshops, social media outreaches, publication and distribution of flyers and posters.
   
5. Expanded Parenting Education - providing "Positive Parenting" materials and refreshments for PTA meetings, as well as telephone counseling support and home visits.
   

HELP US TO TAKE CARE OF OUR CHILDREN FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS!

TESTIMONIAL

Raniel, (returned runaway male student)

“The Special Educational Support Programme gave me a lot of assistance and helped me to attend classes every day without worry – I am now able to finish my assignments on time since getting the device and data, and I’m achieving better grades.”