FIVE Grade 6 students of Snowdon Primary and Infant School in Manchester have written individual letters to Prime Minister Andrew Holness expressing concern about a number of issues affecting Jamaica, and offering solutions.

The students — Natanyah Walters, Eashan Edwards, Tajaire Gayle, Arianna Boothe, and Jenell Campbell, all 11 years old — drew the prime minister’s attention to fires, beach pollution, blocked drains, overfishing as it relates to parrotfish, and highway construction.

“We had actually intended to send the letters directly to the prime minister but chose instead to send it to the Jamaica Observer, knowing that he will see them when they are published,” Kristen Chedda, the students’ teacher, told the Sunday Observer.

Here are the letters:

Blenheim Town District

Newport PO

Manchester

September 29, 2023

The Most Hon Andrew Holness, ON,

Prime Minister,

Office of the Prime Minister

1 Devon Road,

Kingston 10

Jamaica

Dear Prime Minister Holness,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing expressing concerns about the impact of a certain human activity on our beloved country, Jamaica and to offer a potential remedy to address this issue.

It’s really scary to see so many fires happening around us. Not only do they harm our environment, but they also put people’s homes and lives at risk. I think one of the reasons for these fires might be that some people don’t know how dangerous fires can be, especially when they are not controlled properly.

Here are some ideas for how we can help reduce the number of fires:

1. Education: We can start by teaching children and adults about fire safety. Schools could have fire safety classes and there could be community workshops to raise awareness about the dangers of fires.

2. Strict rules: We can make stricter rules about when and where people can use fires, like for cooking or burning leaves. If people follow these rules it might help prevent accidental fires.

3. Firefighters: We could also make sure our firefighters have all the tools and equipment they need to quickly respond to fires and put them out safely.

4. Community watch: We could encourage neighbours to look out for each other and report any suspicious activities or unsafe practices that might lead to fires.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, Prime Minister Holness. I believe in our citizens and I believe in you to help make it safer.

Yours sincerely,

Natanyah Walters

Blenheim Town District

Newport PO

Manchester

September 29, 2023

The Most Hon Andrew Holness, ON,

Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister

1 Devon Road

Kingston 10

Jamaica

Dear Prime Minister,

I have been noticing a problem caused by human activity. This is why I am writing this letter to you.

Firstly, the problem that I have been noticing is that many iconic Jamaican beaches are being polluted. This can be for many reasons. For example, when children are playing on the beaches building sandcastles, they leave all their building tools — such as plastic cups and plastic spoons — on the beach.

Secondly, after eating snacks or drinking juices most people leave their garbage on the beach. When they do this, they are causing a huge problem for marine life.

Thirdly, when people leave their garbage on the sand it gets washed into the ocean or it gets blown into it. After this happens, many fish may try to eat the garbage, and some may choke to death or some may catch diseases from the garbage, which would naturally lead to death.

Finally, after all that I have said I believe that I have found a solution to this problem. My solution is that we could put up signs around the beaches so that the other citizens will get to see them. I believe that these signs should say things like, “Don’t be a part of the pollution instead be a part of the solution”, or “Another trash on the beach is another marine life gone”.

Thank you for reading my letter.

Your citizen,

Eashan Edwards

Newfield District

Newfield PO

Manchester

September 29, 2023

The Most Hon Andrew Holness, ON

Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister

1 Devon Road

Kingston 10

Jamaica

Dear Prime Minister,

It has come to my attention that many of our community drains have been clogged over the past years and have been causing problems whenever we have heavy rains. People are posting on social media that the prime minister is not doing a good job. This is because most of the time cars tend to shut off in the middle of the road when there are heavy rains. This is all because of the clogged drains. Also, the issue is causing mosquitoes to breed in the drains and causes dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

May I suggest a solution to the problem? Firstly, you can get someone to clean the drains or set a camera to see who is throwing the garbage in the drain, or on the road.

Yours sincerely,

Tajaire Gayle

Blenheim Town District

Newport PO

Manchester

September 29, 2023

The Most Hon Andrew Holness, ON

Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister

1 Devon Road

Kingston 10

Jamaica

Dear Prime Minister,

It has come to my attention that the parrotfish species is at risk. In the South Pacific this is largely due to overfishing of the bumphead parrotfish who having an unfortunate habit of sleeping in natural aggregations at predictable locations in shallow water, meaning fishermen can quickly find a spare dozen of them at once. However, due to these fishing pressures parrotfish can become extinct.

Fish help to build up corals, meaning if it weren’t for the parrotfish, corals would quickly become suffocated by seaweeds on reefs around the world — which is what is happening in Jamaica and in the Pacific.

May I suggest you put up signs and put out warrants that state, “Let’s stop fishing in this area” or “Parrotfish will become extinct”. If this matter continues, parrotfish will become extinct, corals will be damaged, and our beautiful beaches will no longer be beautiful.

Yours sincerely,

Arianna Boothe

Blenheim Town District

Newport PO

Manchester

September 29, 2023

The Most Hon Andrew Holness, ON

Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister

1 Devon Road

Kingston 10

Jamaica

Dear Prime Minister,

It has come to my attention that the Government is creating a new section of the highway, which is a good thing to improve the quality of our roads. However, there are some things that are affecting the people around us. Prime Minister, the dust from the road work is affecting many people’s health — for example, it is causing sinus and asthma issues.

There’s also a build-up of traffic, causing some people to arrive late at work. Another thing is, the vendors who used to make enough money to take care of their families now have no customers and, as such, are struggling to raise money for their families.

Prime Minister, may I suggest that you put the following measures in place? I am suggesting that workmen use water trucks to sprinkle the road at least three times per day to keep away most of the dust. Next, you could place policemen on duty to direct traffic; and open other roads, if possible, for better flow of traffic. Vendors could be provided with a place to sell their goods while the highway is being completed.

Thank you for looking into these matters to see what can be done.

Yours sincerely,

Jenell Campbell