Betty Ann Blaine
.png)
00:00
00:00
00:00
JTA President Leighton Johnson
By Nakinskie Robinson
Noted children's rights activist and founder of Hear the Children's Cry, Betty Ann Blaine, has died.
Radio Jamaica News confirmed that she died Monday morning in Atlanta in the United States, after ailing for some months.
Reacting to her passing, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in a post on social media, said Mrs. Blaine's passion and commitment touched countless lives and that her legacy will inspire many to create a better Jamaica.
Leighton Johnson, President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, said her death has left a void on the landscape of advocacy in Jamaica.
"[She was] an individual who was compassionate and spoke with a whole lot of passion regarding the overall development of education, to some extent, how the country on a whole treated children," he recounted.
"We salute her for the work that she did championing the cause for safety and security of our children, advocating for their rights, advocating for their protection, advocating for just human beings altogether being able to enjoy a better standard of living and a better quality of life," said Mr. Johnson.
Hear the Children's Cry was established in 2002 and facilitates aid for the more than 150 Jamaican children that go missing monthly.
It spearheads the Ananda Alert Rapid Response System for Reports of Missing Children and became the first Caribbean organisation to become a member of the Global Missing Children's Network in 2015.
Mrs. Blaine acted in several other capacities including talk show host, lecturer at the University of the West Indies, the convenor of a third political party called the New Nation Coalition and Founder of Youth Opportunities Limited.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
