FBI abduction expert for Ananda Alert forum in Child Month
HEAD OF the Ananda Alert Secretariat, Nathalee Ferguson, has indicated that an upcoming presentation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) child abduction expert, Ashley Douglas, will serve as a teaching experience for the hundreds of students expected to attend the Ananda Alert Missing Children’s Forum in Child Month.
Slated for International Missing Children’s Day on May 25, the forum will also see presentations from a representative of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, as well as a local specialist in the field of child trafficking.
“She (Ashley Douglas) has almost nine years’ experience where missing children are concerned. Her exploring the issue of child abduction isn’t just useful for children, but also persons within the child-protection sector who will be in attendance, so they further understand steps which aid in preventing abduction,” said Ferguson, adding that recommendations made at the forum would impact future policies.
“Our youth do not take the issue seriously, and so learning of cases from our neighbours like the United States might encourage them to be more responsible online and while travelling our dangerous roads. I expect that the presentation on this topic will open the eyes of the students who will journey from across Jamaica to attend.”
SELF-SAFETY PROJECTS
From the data accumulated in 2014 and 2015, the secretariat and its various partners have been targeting parishes with the highest numbers of reported missing children.
Sessions were held with cohorts from various schools and they were tasked with creating projects primarily geared towards self-safety and utilisation
of available state services for students of a mind to run away from the home.
From this initiative, the five selected schools will compete at the forum, where the top three will receive awards for best developed projects.