The Desnoes and Geddes (D&G) Foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Education and Youth (MoEY) and the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) to help and encourage parents to leverage their influence to reduce underage drinking.

The MOU will facilitate a pilot training programme for parents at seven schools, which will provide critical insights for creating a national programme for schools.

Under the MOU, the NPTAJ will train parents on how to teach their children about the dangers of underage drinking and how to make responsible choices. Trainers will use a D&G Foundation theatre-in-education programme dubbed ‘The Parents Movement’, which includes video dramatisations as well as scientific data presented in an interactive way to stimulate dialogue.

“Underage alcohol consumption remains a prevalent problem in Jamaican society. Therefore, it is vital to empower parents and caregivers with the knowledge and tools they can use to impact youth positively,” said Dianne Ashton-Smith, D&G Foundation board member.

“Building a culture where minors are not allowed to consume alcohol freely is important to healthy families, communities and national development. Underage drinking brings physical and mental risks that could have lifelong implications. The D&G Foundation is proud to stand behind The Movement and welcome the positive impact that it will undoubtedly have on our students and parents.”

As part of the agreement, the D&G Foundation will provide training materials, ICT support and promotional materials. The MoEY will coordinate the programme and manage communication with participating institutions. For its part, the NPTAJ will provide trainers, help to assess the programme outcomes and carry out reporting tasks at the end of each execution.

Chief education officer at the MoEY, Dr Kasan Troupe, welcomed the MOU stating, “This partnership and programme are quite timely as November is Parent Month. This programme will build the capacity of parents at the high school level to have difficult conversations. School and home must work together for our students to be successful. No parent is ever too old to learn, and anything you can do to strengthen the home will lead to raising good students. We want to make the parents more confident in their ability to tackle the difficult conversations that come with this topic. I hope that from this training, there will be a reduction in alcohol abuse which will lead to greater student success and better decision-making. Once the evaluation from the pilot is complete, we want to use the learnings to inform more widespread programmes in the future.”

NPTAJ President Stewart Jacobs explained that the current problem with underage drinking could be attributed to both a lack of tools on the part of parents and a widespread acceptance by many in our society of minors consuming alcohol. He notes that both factors can be improved with proper education.

“There’s no denying that Jamaica needs stronger parenting in many areas. This training will better enable our parents to appreciate that our kids shouldn’t be exposed to alcohol until the appropriate age. As parents, we are responsible for our children’s safety, and we must protect them, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re taking a bold step that should go down in history as one of the ways this country has used to control the use of alcohol among children. This programme will help us support parents on their parenting journey. Initiatives like this are protecting the next generation.”

Jacobs and his executive team led the first training under the MOU with an interactive session involving NPTAJ members. It was one of a series of activities for the NPTAJ during Parent Month.