Christian Aid report to the United Reformed Church
Commitment for Life programme - Jamaica 2006
In 2005/6 a total of £211,431 was given in core funded grants to Christian Aid programmes in Jamaica.
The three main focus areas for Christian Aid’s programme in Jamaica are Secure Livelihoods, Economic Justice and HIV. Disaster mitigation and preparedness (DMP) is also an important area in the work on secure livelihoods.
Country Context
The third largest island in the Caribbean covering nearly 11,000 sq km, Jamaica became fully independent in 1962. It has a population of 2.73 million. Jamaica has a tropical climate and like other islands in the Caribbean, it is prone to severe weather events such as hurricanes. In July 2005, Hurricanes Dennis and Emily resulted in four mortalities and in October Hurricane Wilma again battered the country. Accumulatively, they resulted in US$3.5 million of agricultural losses.
Jamaica ’s economy has traditionally been based on the production of sugar, alumina, bauxite and manufactured goods for export. Sugar is the main agricultural export with 200,000 families dependent on this industry. However, it is in poor shape and is becoming increasingly unprofitable. Manufacturing has also declined over the last decade and, consequently, the mainstay of the economy has shifted towards tourism and other services provision. The manufacturing decline is in most respects attributable to trade liberalisation trends and shifts in the regional textile manufacturing trade in favour of Central American countries which have been able to offer lower labour costs and better exchange rates. Likewise, sugar production has also suffered as a result of ‘free’ trade.
Coffee, tobacco, cocoa, bananas and citrus fruit are produced in Jamaica, but agriculture only accounts for around 6% of GDP and only provides approximately 20% of employment. Coffee has been the only product which has seen a rise in production and export earnings in recent years rather than a decline. The agricultural, forestry and fishing industries, as well as the domestic food production sector, regularly suffer major setbacks as a result of hurricane damage as well as floods and drought. Domestic food production is also hampered by the high cost of agricultural inputs, high interest rates, lack of irrigation and poor farm to market conditions.
Jamaica continues to be highly indebted and has an external debt of US$6.2 billion. Its vast internal debt is also one of the major obstacles to more sustainable national development. The EIU estimates that almost half of all government spending goes on servicing its debt burden. GDP per head stands at US$3,334 as opposed to S$40,047 GDP per head in the United States. GNI is $2,900 per person.
In March 2006 Jamaica swore in its first woman Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, taking over from PJ Patterson at the head of the ruling People’s National Party. General elections are due to take place before October 2007.
Poverty
Poverty is not a phenomenon most outside the country would necessarily link to Jamaica. While the mention of Jamaica often conjures up images of a tropical tourist paradise, the reality is far from that for the majority of the population. Away from the rich tourist resorts along the coast, many live in crowded, impoverished conditions. Jamaica has one of the worst records in the world for distribution of wealth.
25% of Jamaicans live below the poverty line and many do not have access to schools, adequate health care or employment opportunities. As the economy suffers, so education standards are dropping, illiteracy is increasing, health care is deteriorating, unemployment is rising and thousands are migrating abroad in search of better economic opportunities. The skilled and educated are those most likely to leave, thus contributing to further declines in education and health provision standards as vital skills are lost. The government is in a Catch-22 situation for if it invests in wage increases, it has less resources to spend on vital medicines and equipment.
Enforced liberalisation and changes in global trade rules are putting sugar, banana and free trade zone workers in economic jeopardy with very little time to bargain for viable alternatives. The dominant economic model (tourism, agricultural export and FTZs) and the parallel informal economy forces people to undertake often dangerous and/or illegal activities, earn insufficient income and suffer undignified working conditions that perpetuates their poverty.
Inequality coupled with persisting economic instability are responsible for worsening civil unrest and gang violence, which is also fuelled by the drugs trade. Violence and murders are rife with 1685 murders recorded in 2005, the second highest in the world. Such a high rate of crime and lawlessness could have a damaging affect on Jamaica’s vital tourism industry.
Jamaicans remain mostly unaware of their social, cultural and economic rights and thus few are pro-active in defending them.
Christian Aid in Jamaica
Christian Aid works in three priority areas in Jamaica:
- Secure Livelihoods
- Economic Justice
- HIV
Christian Aid and Commitment for Life supports six organisations:
- Jamaicans for Justice
- Children and Community for Change (3Cs)
- Jamaican Aids Support for Life (JASL)
- United Theological College of West Indies (UTCWI)
- S-Corner
- Women’s Resource Outreach Centre (WROC)
Programme overview for 2005/06
Secure Livelihoods projects aim to support and build programmes that give women and young people from rural and urban areas increased access to the training and skills development, assets and resources that they need to guarantee a secure livelihood. Problems of precarious livelihoods are being addressed through conflict resolution and peace building. Communities and groups that are vulnerable to natural disasters are being helped to be able to identify risks, prepare mitigation plans and rebuild their livelihoods after social and natural disasters occur
In order to achieve the goal of Economic Justice, partners are advocating and campaigning for sustainable, safe and dignified working conditions for Jamaicans, as well as exposing the structural obstacles that prevent people from exercising their full range of rights. In Jamaica and the UK and Ireland, advocacy work will focus on pushing for further debt cancellation. Meanwhile, Christian Aid and its partners are developing programmes that encourage men and women, boys and girls to learn to understand and defend their social, cultural and economic rights.
In the area of HIV work, HIV continues to be integrated into all partners’ ongoing work. The aim is to challenge stigma and discrimination and promote HIV education, awareness and prevention.
Partners in Jamaica are now benefiting from greater training and support since Christian Aid appointed a Programme Accompanier. Partners are also improving their joint planning and preparedness to minimize calamity during each hurricane season. During last year’s hurricanes, the planning, coordination and preparedness was successfully put into action. Partners will continue to receive more in-depth training in preparing for and mitigating against disaster over the coming year. HIV work likewise received a great deal of investment in terms of time and resources with the aim of improving the quality of HIV work among partners.
The Jamaica programme received a stream of visitors over the year including the actor and playwright Kwame Kwei Amah, several media visits, key people involved in planning this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show. In April 6 young people from FURY and pastors of the Black Majority Churches visited Christian Aid partners in Jamaica during April 2006. The trip has engendered a great deal of interest in issues concerning this country.
This year, we will take a closer look at the work of new partner Jamaicans for Justice in addition to JASL.
Jamaicans for Justice
New partner Jamaicans for Justice was established in the week following the "gas riots" in Jamaica in April 1999. Jamaicans for Justice is a citizens action group that strives for the protection of human rights through lobbying, education and support for bringing actions before courts for the preservation of human rights. It works through a series of committees and a board of Directors. It has one chapter outside the Kingston Metropolitan region in Montego Bay.
It works with people who are looking for help to achieve justice in specific cases. Jamaicans for Justice provides referrals to appropriate state and non-governmental agencies for people seeking legal assistance; holds monthly legal advice sessions and hosts a bi-monthly legal advice slot on the radio. It provides legal counsel at Coroners Inquests and the Supreme Court to represent the families of those shot by the police in cases of suspected extra-judicial execution. Jamaicans for Justice also trains volunteers and members in legal screening and referral, and carries out court actions/petitions for priority cases where righst have been abused by the state.
Jamaicans for Justice also researches on issues that affect the fundamental rights of citizens. It prepares position papers, and lobbies parliament and the wider public on issues that it feels do or will affect citizen's rights.
Christian Aid is now funding part of its work which aims to build public awareness on issues of economic and social justice and rights through data gathering and analysis, community workshops, publications of educational materials and articles. In addition, it aims to increase awareness of opportunities for advocacy and dialogue around these issues in order to impact community and national thinking.
Jamaican Aids Support for Life (JASL)
JASL provides educational and medical outreach support to people living with HIV/AIDS, including gays, lesbians and bisexuals, sex workers and prisoners all of whom, in Jamaica, are marginalised and discriminated against. 70% of the people treated are women and children. JASL also carries out public education, research, fundraising and advocacy work on HIV/AIDS and its links to poverty and inequality.
At this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show, designer Claire Whitehouse exhibited a garden telling the story of HIV in the Caribbean and highlighting the importance of education in the fight against the global pandemic. Novlet Reid from JASL attended the exhibition to talk about the work of JASL and the difficulties faced by those living with HIV/AIDS in the country. As part of her visit, she also visited the URC and other Christian Aid supporters in the UK.
