Upon reading my daily observer this morning I came across a startling article which spoke about  AIDS awareness not reaching inner city youth in jamaica. here it is for your preview www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Violence-hampering-HIV now after reading this article i take  issue with such statemnet has alot of effort has been placed on inner city youth in jamaica not only educating on safe sex proactices but also counselling those who seek help and those who are in need as well as providing a safe and confidential environment where they are free to express themselves without fear of being stigmatized.

Despite the strong presence of these negative sub-cultures within the inner city alot of young men in th einner city are being wise about safe sex. alot of them are aasking for condoms.

i implore you to read the article and suggest ways in which us young advocates in Jamaica can help stem this issue.

This entry is a part of our World AIDS Day Blogathon.  During this week we share our experiences, stories, and ideas about how HIV affects young people around the world. Join the blogathon .

There I was standing on the well manicured lawns of Devon’s’ house in Kingston Jamaica participating in this years’ world AIDS day activity which was stage by the ministry of health in collaboration with numerous entities from corporate Jamaica, civil society and various media entities. Under the hot yet busy JYAN tent. I was playing the new and innovating stigma game coined by a wonderful friend, through the rubber (elastic band) on the penis model, and my favorite completing the phrase “I can support someone living with HIV/AIDS because”, which then led to your pictures being taken with your statement which is going to be used by in slideshow by JYAN during the year.

I was so engross in sharing the knowledge I knew, watching my fellow Jamaicans get tested and well as pre and post counseling for the testing, playing games with the youngsters present and listening to live broadcast of some of Jamaica’s popular radio show that I forgot all about my dear friend D who is living with AIDS.  The day was going really great: Free testing, free and safe medium for both parents and children to speak on the issue of sexual reproductive health and rights. Share their experiences; provide advice and solutions to curb quite a few of the social ills that affect us as a society that there was no need to focus on the negative side of life. Not making this being infected be the end of your life, or that the worst has happened to you.

I sat, walked and jumped in awe at the spectacular scene that was taking place in front of me …… I was proud to be a Jamaican proud to be an advocate but in all the excitement I turned around to grab a bottle of water when I read what was on my shirt. Yes I can support someone living with HIV/AIDS and then I remembered D. I instantly called him and told him that I knew of his condition and I am there to not only support him but to be the best friend, brother he always wanted.

For me the theme used this year was most fitting for our society as there is a high level of stigma and discrimination towards those persons living with HIV/AIDS and as such as caused many not to get tested.

For many young people worldwide, yesterday marked a very significant stage in their lives. the celebration of youth worldwide and their existence not only indicates that we are the future and the many agents of change for time to come but that presently we play an integral roll in the transformation, and progress that our society will take.

The Jamaica youth advocacy network in efforts to educate, empower and eradicate staged a film screening as apart it's many activities geared towards youth celebration at the University of the West Indies Mona campus under the theme Sustainability: Our Challenge, Our Future.

The event started around 4:00 pm sharp and the organizers wasted no time in getting to the point. the film showcased was entitled "youth producing change" which was directed and produced by young persons from across the globe armed with digital cameras, computer and their own boundless creativity. The actors in this film fearlessly highlighted the many issues they are faced with each and every day with their respective communities. Armed with digital cameras, computers and their own boundless creativity- these young people bravely exposed human rights issues faced by themselves and their communities.

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ok so for the 5th year RETV a local tv station has embarked upon its fifth season of its annual RETV high tour. A two or three months tour of jamaican artists visiting various high schools telling the youngsters about safe sex, and educating them about issues surrounding sexual reproductive health and rights.
 A wonderful idea i must say and the fact that it is backed by the ministry of health just solidifiies the fact that jamaica is moving forward. for the past two years i have had the privilege to participate in this experience: interviewing the artistes and helping out in their sessions however this year after reading the daily gleaner i realise that though the line up of artistes are probably the best ever the theme for this season is totally irrelevant and will have little impact.

under the theme " abstinence mek sense"  the tour was kicked off couple weeks ago at a popular high school. with local artistes preaching about the old traditional method of abstinence and how it is the best way...  while i agree with the statement and yes the theme as well atleast 1/2 of these students are having sex already with atleast a 1/4 planning on or have done sexual things but just havent done the whole thing.

while we would want to believe that our young bright, talented child, brother, sister or cousin is not thinking about sex or worst having sex the sad relaity is that they are. the invention of social networks, chat rooms, pronography whether print or television and lets not for get these overly sexual commercials which are just advertising simple hosue products, have become very easy to access by youngsters and as such alot of them have fallen prey.

my concern is that for a popular and well supported initiative that has such a huge impact on youngsters the messages needs to target the larger and more popular groups.. i mean unless these others issues such as children being overly exposed to sex in the media our youth will continue to be curious, and are going to want to experiment.

we need tp promote more comprehensive sex ed programmes, more condom usage demonstartions, more informative seeions on hiv/aids and other diseases.

so once again the jamaican parliamentarians are at it again!! And no its not about how can we decrease the level of crime and violence or HIV/AIDS infections. but once again they are out to inform the populace that homosexuality is illegal this time throught a different route.

Men who cheat on their female partners by engaging in homosexual acts should be punished under the proposed sexual offences law, according to Opposition Senator Sandrea Falconer.

At the same time, another parliamentarian is urging her colleagues to block every loophole to prevent a man who undergoes a sex change from seeking coverage under the definition of sexual intercourse in the proposed law.

In her contribution to the debate on Friday, Senator Falconer charged that she had little regard for bisexuals. "I believe that those men when found out should be eligible for prosecution under Section 4 Subsection 4 (3) (b) of this current bill," she said.The particular section of the bill states: "Consent shall not be deemed to exist where the apparent agreement to sexual intercourse is obtained by false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act or the identity of the offender."

In the proposed law, sexual intercourse means the penetration of the vagina of one person by the penis of another person.

"The sex organs should not include any surgically constructed sex organs under circumstances, such as where a person underwent a sex change," Senator Bennett said.

At the end of 2007, an estimated 230,000 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. Some 20,000 people were newly infected during 2007, and there were 14,000 deaths due to AIDS.

In two countries in this region - the Bahamas and Haiti - more than 2% of the adult population is living with HIV. Higher prevalence rates are found only in sub-Saharan Africa, making the Caribbean the second-most affected region in the world. Half of adults living with the virus are women.

AIDS is now one of the leading causes of death in some of these countries, with Haiti being the worst affected. An estimated 7,500 lives are lost each year to AIDS in Haiti, and thousands of children have been orphaned by the epidemic.

With the rapid increase in HIV/AIDS cases here in the Caribbean and Jamaica it was really a sigh of relief when hundreds turned out for HIV/AIDS testing on 26th of June at nine Scotiabank locations, an estimated 1,664.

The event was the second of its kind hosted by Scotiabank in collaboration with National HIV/STI Programme in the Ministry of Health and the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV and AIDS. It was conducted one day ahead of the internationally observed HIV-testing day.

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hey guys

Again im here to engage u'll in an interesting discussion. this time its about jamaica's popular dancehall artist vybz kartel. now as you all know well if u didnt now u know dancehall is a merger of reggea and hip hop a more raw version that speaks about the struugles of the gettho and is said to always promote the cry of the poor... well you be the judge of that. anyway mr palmer yeah thats his name adija palmer is known for his lued lyrics and degregation of women in his music again i say you be the judge of that as surprisingly most women who like dancehall music like his song despite the negative lyrcis he promote with regards to their body the vagina yes i said and sexual intercourse.

now as you guys have already heard the jamaica boardcasting comission has banned all songs that promote daggering which is a dance style associated with dancehall music that features pelvic grinding simulating sex..interesiting video isn't well these explicit songs and acts are what dancehall artists are trying to promote in an already slow progressing society.  so recently mr palmer was schedule to perform in grenada however the day of his performance was suppose to be the same day as his condom launch called daggering condoms. "Lyrics that seem to promote violence have raised concern and led the government to deny the rapper a performance permit, said Sen. Ann Peters, a junior health minister and chair of Grenada's national AIDS Council. She said officials were not aware of the condom launch" so my question is hmmmm was he there to perform or there to promote his condoms which for some has gotten major publicity. like what the hell!!!  as miss south carolina teen usa 2007 said i believe " U.S americans"  i believe jamaiac jamaicans well the artist needs to understand that to make it in the entertainment business you need to have an open mind as a wide cross section of people are business are buying your music.

with that said i believe that his tour was of course a cheap shot at promoting his condom but my question is why? why miss you launch back home to perform. well we will never know but all i can say is artist be wise and open minded and tolerant.

one love

i know my title may sound silly but with the increase in HIV/AIDS and other STI'S not only here in jamaica but also internationally i must i was pleased to have wlaked by not just one, two, nor three but seven condonm warppers today. so exams have started and we are on study break well not really but we dnt have classesanymore only go exam and let me tell you i wasnt feeling like leaving my room for anything today but i had business on campus so i went.

usually wen i walk i like to look up as if im the king of the universe and im all that even though im not but today on my way back to my hall/dorm the hot caribbean sun was pleating my foreheard so i decided to look down while i walk home and what did i see hmmm a condom wrapper but not just any condom wrapper but the ones the ministry of health back home gives out at their events...boy was i happy to know that atleast one couple is haveing safe sex. so then i walked a little futher and what did my eyes behold another condom wrapper this time of a different brand again i was pleased. now i know that it doesnt mean that they had safe sex or sex at all but hey lets be optimistic here and put in our youth.

as i journed to my room i cam across more condom wrappers until my joy became obivious people strated to look at me but i didnt care and ps ppl my school takes pride in its environment alot however when i was up that area hadnt been ckeaned yet at thats where most of the trash are keep of thrown.

i should also commend the university for ads using popular students on campus to pose on offical posters all over campus you go uwi!!!

(from Orain, one of our youth bloggers from Jamaica)

i had the opportunity to attend an international summit the one voice summit in washington DC in march and boy was it  an eye opener. as you heard the name of the summit is the one voice summit and im sure i wasnt the only person there who didnt fully, note i said fully understand the meaning of the summit however after presenting last at the opening ceremony i was fully clear on what is wats about..... but enough of the summit let me speak to the information i learnt at the summit and can i tell you it was some distrubing and alarming information. first let me say for all those americans who will read this " your abstinence only programme DOES NOT WORK AGAIN I SAY IT DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!" i heard some startling information like teens in florida think they can bathe in bleach to kill gonorrhea like what the hell. or worst one presenter who stated that washington D.C  which let me say is not a state would be in the top ten countries if was a country for HIV/AIDS. no man this is serious after talking to a friend who will be in washington for the holiday he said he doesnt want to go because he heard on the news that washington is being compared to unganda re HIV/AIDS concentartion. no again i ask isnt that  awful.

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after writing my first article i clicked on the issues optiopn to view the various issues i can speak on and immediately i saw the tioic of unintended pregnancy and i thought oh my i need to write on this topic as two well no three of my friends had unintended pregnancies well one is pregnant now.

the first one was a really close friend of mine in high school who was madely inlove with one of my friend. they have been dating for over a year and according to both were having protected sex. sex for this girl was not something she wanted to engage in but due to peer pressure and pressure from her boyfriend who was also pressured by his egotistical male friends she had to comply.
so this it it one day they left school early went over to his house and had unprotected sex she said she told him to pull when it was time but according to her he stayed in amidst the resistance he was getting from her to pull out. one thing led to another she became pregnant. the next day at school she came to me crying sayin im the first person she is tell this to and she wants counseling so me being gave a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. This friend was devasted as her father was very violent and she knew the ramifications of her action. this i knew was not gonna be easy for her but was determing to stick by her until the end.  now she has a wonderful boy who is about three years old and im a proud god father. yay me..... the point is that many of our youth are pressured each and everyday into having sexual intercourse for us males its much more difficult as having sex once doesnt count nor does having sex with one girl makes u apart of the gang. the culture of multiple sexual female partners is rampant in our society and the pressure is so hard you cant resist some times... thank god my mother was a strict women and sat me down and told me about sex, girls and that i should respect them from an early age.....amen.

the second was a close friend of the first girl  as a matter of fact i believe they are cousins was dating this older guy was according to her, her everything, i believe they were engaged ...boy was she happy. anyway a year afetr graduation she became pregnant and moved in this guy unlike the first who baby daay was still in sch a next issue for a next time. yes.... one rainy night he came in and was horny so they had sex and the rest was a beautiful little girl according to her. you see this young lady was trying to get into school and complete her education however was bambuzzled by the sweet talks of her dream now she is a single mother who is searching for love and good old me have to be playing cupid.

the third and final one is very recent as the young lady is just two months pregnant going on three months. her case is really special as one day i saw her spitting alot so i asked are you pregnant? she jokinly said said yes so i was ok name the baby after me.....for the next two days i was really perturbed with the issue and wanted a concrete answer so after an exam i said no man ur pregnant arent you she said yes. now ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, there i was finally getting the answer i wanted but was disappointed hell why i asked why did she do something like that?  this was a girl who is from the gettho area and defied all the odds by getting and starting university. she has a younger brother whose future depends on her to taking the family out of poverty as well as fund his territary education. now the father of this unborn child is soon to jailed AGAIN pro illegal poseesion of EVERYTHING however acoording to she sex is great. i can recall high school days we sitting down and she telling tales on their sexual encounter now in just disgusted that he got her pregnant. oh note the guy has another girl pregnant  and had a child with that same girl before. now i can't really blamed the guy totally nor the girl either as in those commnities a girl should become pregnant by the age of 16 or else she is looked down on by the community. A bit backward dn't you think. now the consequences of her being are as follows students: 1- she is sick extremly sick its shows on her face, her body has change and is changing rapidly as it isnt prepared for the pregnancy. 2- her younger brother will have to put his dreams of going to university right after high as he will no have the mantle of taking the family out of poverty but will have to work first to fund his university education a major setback. 3- she is now responsible for another life and god n=knows she can hardly take care of herself. 4- the family will have to spend more on this new life. and alot more.

the sad reality of unintended teenage pregnancy has been rapidly increasing in jamaica for many reason more than. for soem its the money that these young girls get from these older men when they are in a relationship as is the case with girl number 3, or the immense pressure placed on us teens into having sex.
our youth are plagued with many different challenges everyday of their lifes whether its at home, school on the road or even church. The need for parents to integrate sexual discussions as well as motivational speech in their family talks whether formal or informal is urgent. let  us act now.
obama says yes we can ...i saw like nike just do it!!!!!!!

I have realized since i was introduced to this wonderful avenue that brings to life an assortment of  issues that are present in our society and that are affecting us youth, i haven't heard any jamaican mention the issue of homsexuality.

on wednesday around 8:32 pm i was in class (yeah i cant believe i have classes so late but u got to do what you got to do). my tutor was talking about research design and one thing led to  another he began to  speak about the issue of thug homosxuals or what we in jamaica call " badman battyman" and asked the question what would you do if you found out your brother was gay? immediately the entire male populace in the class blurted "i would neglect him instantly" not in that manner of course it was more forceful and agressive, simply representing our country's stance on the issue. so i sat at the back and listened some more and all i heard was "battyboy fe dead" and this one voice amidst all this hateful talk saying "oh my god i cant believe how primitive you guys are"... of course this was a woman.

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The senestive issue of abortion has been a  topic the jamaican society has had many challenges with in trying to reach a compromise. the various agruements presented by different groups such as the church and many others has definetly created various stanpoints and as such the government of jamaica has been grippling with the decision on whether to legalise it or to remain firm in their stance. Now for the record i am not as knowledable as many are in this area so feel free to give constructive criticism.

Over the years many person tend to ignore this topic however in the beginning of 2008 a revival of the abortion debate took the forefront of parliament when a report was  tabled in parliament by the abortion poilcy review advisory group which stated that the public health sector was being adversely affected by the number of patients coming for care after "botched abortions". the largest groups of women affected according to the report from the abortion policy review advisory group were from poor, inner city.

the committe that made up the APRAG recommended that some sections of the offences against the person act be repealed. Once done, it should be replaced by a civil law that would allow abortion under some circumstances. the law would be called the termination of preganancy act.this sounds reasonable, but since jamaicans love to talk about being a religious country, the very thought of abortion raises the hackles of many. according to source the report revealed that 641 patients were treated at a hospital in kingston for complications associated with abortions during march 2005 and august 2005. of this number almost 200 said they had already at least prevision abortions. two-fifty of patients were coming in to deal with complications of their first abortion.

is that “abortion militates against the deeply held values of the nation”. While this sounds nice, taken against the backdrop of an almost nonchalant acceptance of infidelity, children growing up without a father or non-existent family structure, it seems more like pretty words than an actual fact. Sadly, Jamaicans, like people in other countries will say one thing in public and do the total opposite in private.

After leaving french class this morning i was walking down to my room with some of my friends talking and laughing when i heard a song on an IPOD something about "digging out har sal make she bwal" something of that nature by elephant man... then the famous ramping show came on and boy were they in a frenzy. so i decided to ask my good good friend from high school why he listen to these songs? he didnt answer but just stood the there staring at me with a odd look. i knew what that meant so i just dismiss the topic.

within the next minute i said to him trying to push his buttons hey yute do you know that this week is safer sex week and as a member of JSTAR im suppose blog all week and get my friends to blog also. he asked "safer sex week so they take a week out of the year to tell us to have sex so only for this week we suppose to have safer sex? "

i stood there looking at him while his admirer looked on and said and just sighed. i asked him are you having sex he said yes i said ok then are u have safe sex he said " yute a staright bareback unda har frack'  yeah that look on ur face awhile ago was my initial response as well.
he laughed and said we bun condom and i just shook my head and walked.


upon reaching my room i sat around my laptop and ponde. why would he say something like that? is he really having wsex...welll duh its....... but i mean would he say that? so guess what i got up went to room equiped of course with condoms a folder full of statistics and information and a bottle to represent a penis as i didnt have a dildo to use and demonstrate the proper usage of a condom.

we sat down and had a wonderful session about sexual reproductive health and rights. he was excited to learn and what all the information he could.

it is sad but it is a reality that most of our young men don't believe in safe sex and most of our young women are forced to have unprotected sex if they want to keep their relationship. have we done enough? are we doing enough? i believe the jamaican government both past and present did and is doing a tremendous job in getting the word out there. the onus is now on us we need to be more responsilbe as individuals, their is an urgency to value life within our society and as youth leaderships and advocates we need to take the first step.

weh u seh?

As a member of the JSTAR council i have the responsiblity to conduct monthly projects as apart of my work. After year's day passed and all the excitment was over i was ready to return to school not so much the to the work but to see my newly formed friends and of course back to hall life, but before i could enjoy all these spoils of university life i had to conduct my monthly session this time it was with a bunch of young people from the rural part of jamaica.

present at the session were young persons raging from 10 to 19 from various primary and secondary institutions as i wanted an idea of what they (the teachers) teach in these high schools.

my session started with the questions - what is sexual intercourse? , who should be having sexual intercourse and what is sexual reproductive health? the answers i got we very starnge as i thought that this age group would have been able to say what is sexual intercourse.

one boy age 11 said "thats what my brother does when mommy not there" another child spoke a girl this time age 16 proudly said when a man inserts his penis inside a woman vagina... the entire room was in excitment as they cheered her on. i went to ask where did you learn about sex?

boy was i shock most said on the road or on  the tv watching these soap operas, some said at school but they were the older set who were in high school and this had me pulzzed as to why  only like two persons said at home and it was from their older siblings.

were are our parents? and why arent they playing their role in educating our youth about sex and sexual repproductive health.

a little boy who wants to remain anonymous said his parents who kill him if they heard him talk about sex. people he is 17 but because of the values of the home he is not allowed to have those discussions i was dis-heartend because at age 9 my mom sat me down and gave the the whole story and boy was i excited to hear and that litle story has influenced so many of my decisions as it relates to sex.

In a society where HIV/AIDS is on the rise, teenage pregnancy is the new thing. "unprotected is the best and only sex" we need to inform our youth about these issues. I recall just last year there was a huge debate on whether th eministry of health along with the ministry of education should make condoms available in schools as a result of the increase in early sexual activities among th eyoung people and the many "TAPES" sent all over the internet.
this idea was quickly shut down by many church officals, schools, and parents saying that this is just another way of telling us young people to have sex.

what do you think? are they telling us to have sex and thats it? or are they saying society must recognise the the alarming statistics of early sexual encounters among young people as well as the increase in teenage pregnancies so we saying we know you having sex just rap it up and be safe? please bear in mind that the availability of condoms in schools high schoos to be specific is not just putting them in an area and say hey you go and take one but rather it will be issued to a student by the schools' guidance counselor who is a trained profession who will conduct a session with the teen analyse the situation and then make a decisive decision.

ladies and gentlemen ...im sorry was a debator in high school............ we need to act now as advocates the onus is on us to ensure that our youth wont be so unfortunate to find out about sex in the worst way possible one little saying says "education is the key to success" and u can define success to mean a whole bunch of things.

it saddens my heart to know that young people are still being left in thhe dark because to theire parents sex or any discussion about it in the home is a taboo a complete no-no.

i believe that empowering and educating our youth will lead to our country's development.

the first semester of my university life was a trip i saw un-speakable things from so many person who in your view were little angels. the matriculation from high school to university life for some persons will not and was not a smooth process.

during the summer of this year i began my university journey to what many here in jamaica say is a world filled with sin......even though the university states this is your place to shine...... i guess some of us wants "our rays all over  the place" than others. Within the the first week of my orientation process both on hall and campus life i saw a few of my friends who decided that it is now time to be more free spirited and explore their sexual side not knowing that these males that they are engaging in sexual intercourse with already have their girl freinds and just want to use them and then sit with the guys and discuss the event in details.

being the one of the youngest male on my hall and block i was not able to partake in these discussions as i was friends with most of these girls and to them ( the guys) i would spill the beans or i was use as bait for them to get close with my friends.
 as the months passed i heard and saw so many young girls losing their virginity, pride and diginity just because they thought slepping with one of the older, sexier, more popular guy would secure them a place in the popular crowd.....yes they placed in the popular crowd of course no doubt they were palced in the i group of girls on campus who are easy to sleep with and will do anything to gain fame.......boy were they surprised.

on other halls there is a story of a tree where the males of such hall prey on first year girls have sex with them, take their panties and then hang it up on a tree and of course your (the girl) pass that tree to see your (well i hope) sexy undergarment hoist like a flag.

so i ask my self why do these girl put themselves in these situations knowing quite well the consequences......it is it that they are sex addicts well for no most it couldnt be because most of them were virgins so then what is it?

im sure we are all aware of some of the degrading acts that plague our universities and woman. so i ask you what can we do about it when some of these acts are traditions as well as they can be proven or some of the young ladies are afraid to talk due to fear their life or reputation. a close friend of mine would say " leave these girls alone and let them learn their lesson on their own.......who cyaan( cannot) hear must feel"

but is that the best way?