ANNOTTO BAY, St Mary — Governor General Sir Patrick Allen yesterday proclaimed the third Friday of May each year, starting May 18, 2012, as National Children’s Day, urging all Jamaicans to help enrich the lives of the nation’s children.

The proclamation was read by St Mary Custos Robert Pottinger as the National Child Month Committee (NCMC) celebrated the start of Child Month with a church service at the St James Anglican Church in this eastern Jamaica town.

Dr Pauline Mullings of the NCMC welcomed the news that a day has now been set aside on the calendar to specially recognise children, saying her the committee had fought hard for that recognition.

“As a national committee, we have fought long and hard for it and we are grateful to our Governor General Sir Patrick Allen and we are grateful to the Ministry of Education,” Dr Mullings said at the service.

“We are grateful to our sponsors who worked with us and agreed that Jamaican children do need that day that we can honour them,” Mullings said.

She urged all parents, guardians and persons involved in the lives of children to treat the day similar to those set aside for mothers and fathers in May and June respectively.

“Our parents, care-givers, teachers, general population, in your community will celebrate our children… through treats and gifts, hugs and kisses and encouragement,” she said.

Mullings added that persons would also be asked to wear yellow to reflect the joy, celebration and sunshine of children. The media, would be asked to broadcast children-friendly programmes and motorists would be asked to keep their headlamps on.

Minister of Youth and Culture, Lisa Hanna, in a message read by the executive director of the Child Development Agency, Carla Edie, said despite challenges facing the country, Government was committed to taking bold steps to chart a course for a brighter future for the nation’s children.

Hanna said the National Child Month theme for this year, ‘Jamaica 50: Let’s Celebrate Our Children’ must be a time for reflection, but moreso, of action. She said that as a nation, there must be reflection on the extent to which promise to our children and youth, to care for them and enable them to rise to the zenith of their potential have been delivered.

“While some strides have been made, we must reflect on, and work to change the culture that has led many in our society to view our children as objects that are to be seen and not heard. We must also commit to breaking the silence and change the social mores that have led some to turn a blind eye in the face of abuse, neglect and abandonment of our children,” Hanna said.

“Moreover, as a community, we must return to the concept of the village raising the child, taking personal responsibility for the wellbeing and guidance of every child, even if they are not biological relatives,” she noted.

In the sermon, Rev Veronica Thomas told the congregation of mostly children the society lacked love, care and protection which contributed to some of the social ills facing country.

Rev Thomas bemoaned the breakdown in good values and attitudes pointing out that the society continued to model greed, indiscipline, violence and abuse. She challenged the society to begin to set a better example for children and called on Jamaicans to begin to speak up against child abuse which was rampant in the society.