Being a constant source of assistance for the most vulnerable youth in Jamaica, Children First Agency is now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Founder and Executive Director Claudette Richardson-Pious, popularly known as Miss Little, said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer that she is overjoyed to witness the growth of the organisation.

Noting the work Children First has done over the years, Richardson-Pious explained that the agency has won a number of awards during its 25-year-long journey.

“The first major award we got was in 1998, when we got the Press Association Award for excellence in Community Development. And then in 2006 we captured the young investigator award for our work with the Bashy Bus,” she began, adding that the Bashy Bus derived from an alarming increase in school students engaging in sexual activities in public transportation.

Richardson-Pious said that in 2010 Children First Agency was awarded the Michael Manley Environmental Foundation of Jamaica Award, and in 2011 the organisation started focusing its efforts on assisting youth in correctional centres.

“We find that when young people go into the institutions and they come back out into society, they are refused. So we did a lot of work in helping them so that when they come out they have a skill. So, we taught them barbering, a project that we call trash to cash, where you use waste things — cardboards, fabric — to make pieces that they could sell. So, there was an income-generating opportunity with that,” the executive director explained.

“Since that, we have been doing a lot around just looking at how we can do a more holistic programming and really positioning Children First as an agency in not just a national landscape, but just the global international landscape. We have had students coming from international universities just to look at our model and see what we are doing. I think in this struggling time in Jamaica, it is really [great] that Children First has managed to keep the doors open for 25 years,” she continued, while thanking her staff, well-wishers and sponsors for their continued support.

Underscoring the importance of developing the nation’s children, Richardson-Pious stated, “We really want children and youth to have a say in their overall development, so we encourage children and youth to develop to their full potential, providing the opportunities whereby they can get good education, get access to health and other welfare services, enabling them to be valuable contributors as members of society.”

As a non-government community development agency, Richardson-Pious had to rely on donations to keep the agency functional. Now, she said, there are a number of locations in Jamaica, including St Catherine and Kingston.

“We also get some funding from international funders like USAID [United States Agency for International Development], Global Fund and UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] and from time to time we have well-wishers who support us and depending on what is happening, we have various projects that we apply for and we have been very fortunate that we have been able to secure grant funding over time,” she added.

Now, Children First is not only dedicated to helping at-risk youth. With a HIV and syphilis department, which was established in 2005, Richardson-Pious told the Sunday Observer that the agency saw that a number of the children in attending classes had parents living with these diseases and these children were visibly impacted.

“We really started in a big way in 2005 with support from the Ministry of Health, Global Fund and over time we got USAID and other funders to support us. The staff was trained to basically provide HIV and syphilis training.

“We also have social workers and a psychologist on the team and we are really now looking at how we can help them to take charge of their lives so that they are not totally depended,” Richardson-Pious stated, noting that under the Better You Programme, these people will have an opportunity to acquire skills to make a living.

She also added that to mark its 25th anniversary, throughout the year the agency will be hosting a number of activities to honour its stakeholders.

At the same time Richardson-Pious proudly acknowledged a number of clients who have been very successful in their career fields.

“I must mention Damion Brown who started with us as a street boy almost, working in the market and really hustling and is now a well-acclaimed actor in Canada. Boy, you know, when I look at my young people and where they are coming from and where they are now, we have some of the most talented nail technicians, barbers and hairstylists in Jamaica, I can promise you that,” she stated.

Rising from the strain of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Richardson-Pious said she quickly adapted to the changing times.

“COVID was something else. It was really very challenging for us. We had to pivot and find ways to keep the programmes going. A lot of our programmes had to move to virtual space. We also had to reduce our community engagement, so in a way it affected the closeness that we could have with our clients but we continue our work nonetheless,” Richardson-Pious added.