KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Dana Morris Dixon says every Jamaican has a responsibility to ensure the safety and the well-being of the nation’s children.

Her comments come in light of an ongoing search to locate Jayden Smith, a student of Manchester High School who has been reported missing since last Friday.

“It is important that all of us see children as our children. Every child is ours, and this notion that we had in the past that every child was ours and that raising children was a community affair, we have to get back to that,” she said during a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday.

The education minister said she has received reports of students missing school and hanging out in commercial spaces during school hours.

She called for greater responsibility among Jamaicans in playing their part in caring for the needs of children.

“It’s a responsibility that all of us have. We have to understand that our children really need us to care for them; it is not just their parents. It’s the entire community that has to do it, and so as we continue this search, let it remind us that every child is our child. We can’t see it like somebody else’s problem, and so if we see a child that needs support, that needs help, we need to provide that support and help to channel them in the right direction.

We can’t see them on the road in the middle of the day and not say, ‘Why are you here?’ What’s going on? Why are you not at school? How can I help you? Do I need to put you on to someone? Do I need to call CPFSA [Child Protection and Family Services Agency]? If I know that I hear something next door, call quietly. Every child is our child, and every child matters,” Senator Morris Dixon emphasised.

The education minister said the Jamaica Police Force (JCF), the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), and the Jamaica Fire Brigade are continuing the search to locate the 12-year-old boy.

“This morning, I did speak to the commissioner of police on this particular matter to get an update on the search. They are working really hard. The military has been involved, and even the fire brigade [Jamaica Fire Brigade] is involved. They have been scouring CCTV cameras around the area trying to locate him. They have not been successful, but they have not stopped,” Morris Dixon said.

READ: ‘Every child is our child,’ says Senator Morris Dixon

— Vanassa McKenzie