The Flow Foundation recently partnered with the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation on its Essay Competition geared at providing a medium for children to express the importance of their perspectives and opinions.

Students were invited to submit a 250-300 word essay on the topic: ‘Listen Up! Children’s Voices Matter’. Sixty submissions were received from students in the parishes of Kingston, Clarendon and St James.

First place went to Cliffona Palmer in the Primary School category and Jamaal Wright won top honours in the High School category. Second place winners Alyssa Morrison (Primary School) and Ashawna Wynter (High School) were both awarded a brand-new Alcatel A1 cell phone and credit courtesy of the Flow Foundation.

Alyssa Morrison stated that her purpose for entering the competition was her desire to help make the world a safer and more nurturing place for children starting with her country, Jamaica.

In her submission, Morrison said, “As children, we may be small, but our size does not equate to the value of our thoughts, opinions and feelings. Ignoring children should not be a societal norm because, like adults, we are human beings with feelings and voices. We are often misunderstood by adults because our immaturity and lack of knowledge about this world is equated to senselessness.”

Ashawna Wynter, who aspires to become a dermatologist, stated children must have the freedom to self-expression and should be taken seriously if we are to have a prosperous future.

“As youngsters, it is critical that our voices be heard, and that our opinions and viewpoints be considered valid in order for us to gain a sense of self-esteem and validation. If we don’t have hope for our children, we don’t have hope for our future,” said Wynter.

Wynter added that she was glad she entered the competition and is quite proud of her accomplishment. In the future, she wants to encourage her peers to enter the competition as well stating, “It is not just about winning. It is an opportunity to have our voices heard, showcase our issues and contribute to resolutions.”

According to Dr Curtis Sweeney, Counselling Psychologist – Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, “It is important that young people are given the opportunity to talk about the issues impacting their wellbeing and development. This competition is relevant on several levels. It gives our youth a voice and helps to hone their writing and critical thinking skills while encouraging a healthy attitude to rivalry between the students.”

Sweeny continued, “We received essays of a very high quality. What this demonstrated was that these young people are thinking about the issues affecting them. They were able to articulate their thoughts and had some really great points. This fills me with hope for our future.”

The Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation is the community outreach arm of GraceKennedy. It seeks to empower at-risk youth through educational and psychosocial programmes and activities. The Flow Foundation enjoys a long-standing relationship with the entity as they are aligned with our mandate to improve the welfare of youth through education. The Foundation employs the use of technology to bridge the digital divide with its digital education programmes.