The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

I was blown away by the thoughts of a ten-year-old boy who was asked to jot down in his own words some sentences about the abuse of children. I’ve known Makaio Mackey to be a high achiever since he was very young. Like my son Elijah, Makaio is an avid golfer. His mother India would rave about Elijah’s golfing skills and she felt encouraged that her son would do well in the sport.

Elijah is now 23 and still hitting the green as often as possible. Makaio’s mom is teaching her son the importance of stickability in life. She has no problem convincing him to come into his own. He is finding his own ways of self expression. When Makaio found out that his mom’s co-worker had an organisation that regularly visits children’s homes in The Bahamas, he immediately wanted to be a part. He told his mother he wanted to read to the kids and thus began a relationship between him and the children that is likely to last a lifetime.

The organisation he helps is called “A Hand Up” Foundation (A Touch of Hope), and is designed to empower and protect children in the homes from tragedies such as sexual abuse. For this reason, I asked Makaio to share some thoughts on child abuse, as I chose it as the topic for this week’s Face to Face, ahead of the upcoming Bahamas Against Crime Child Abuse Week.

Here is what Makaio penned:

1. “All children should be loved so that we could teach children what is love.”

2. “Talk to kids not physically abuse them.”

3. “Every child should have a happy life, don’t take that away by abusing them.”

4. “Try different ways to discipline a child, not just verbal and physical.”

5. “I think all abuse is bad and should end.”

6. “Please! Please! Stop the abuse and watch the world change because it starts with a happy childhood.”

7. “Kids should be happy to get up in the morning, not terrified and always looking over their shoulder.”

He sat with his father Marco, who says his son came up with these statements on his own. I received them in Makaio’s own handwriting. I was deeply moved and thankful that I thought to ask a child to be the biggest advocate in this week’s column on child abuse.

Makaio regularly comes into contact with kids from the children’s homes, some who are victims of abuse. Administrators notice that the homes’ kids respond well to story time led by one of their very own peers. He is learning to take time to show care and concern for others at a very young age.

“Makaio Mackey is a junior volunteer who is absolutely admired for his big heart and the time he devotes to assisting with our events,”, says Minister Mark Brown, founder of A Hand Up.

“Makaio may be young but he is certainly well-rounded and making great strides towards a successful future. We appreciate the time he spends with the youth at the Children’s Emergency Hostel. Makaio can be found on many Sundays reading books or simply sharing thoughts with the children in his age bracket at the hostel. I have to mention how humble and helpful he is at all times.”

Minister Brown and his twin brother were residents at two children’s homes since they were infants, before being reunited with their mother when they were 13-years-old. Today, he helps children who are in the position that he was in. He recently penned the story of his life in a book titled “A Hand Up: A Touch of Hope” with all proceeds going towards the work of the foundation.

At the tender age of 10, Makaio is already in the 6th grade at St Thomas Moore Primary School. His grades also blew me away. His last report card shows almost a perfect score and has glowing remarks from all his teachers. His mother, a conference manager at the Atlantis Resorts, and his father, a Credit and Collection Field Supervisor at BPL, support their son in his academic, sporting and social endeavours.

Makaio loves playing video games and in addition to golf he also loves soccer. He aspires to become a professional soccer player and a business owner one day.

I shared Makaio’s statements on child abuse with Rev CB Moss, founder of Bahamas Against Crime. He was also impressed and promised to share the youngster’s impactful statements at his upcoming conference on: “The Abuse, Exploitation & Trafficking of Children”.

The week of activities to end child abuse will be held from November 3 to 8 under the theme: “Protect Our Children, Preserve Our Future”. According to Rev Moss, Bahamas Against Crime (BAC) decided to focus on child abuse because it was noted that the perpetrators of crimes were getting younger and younger. In some cases, they had to go to court covered and their identities hidden because they were juveniles. Yet, they were accused of serious crimes including robbery and murder.

“What we noticed when we spoke to some of them,” Rev Moss said, “Is that they showed very little remorse or concern.”

“We did an unscientific survey of a large number of young people, and we found that the vast majority of them were abused in some way, shape or form in their lives. Therefore, some became angry and hostile to mainstream society and were exhibiting unpredictable behaviour.”

He added that in speaking to murder convicted criminals, BAC found that the majority of them reported childhood abuse. Therefore, the organisation thought it best to take proactive steps to allay the possibility of even worse crime statistics than what The Bahamas currently faces. The first BAC conference on child abuse was held last year, with 54 public and private organisations participating, Rev Moss says.

“The information that came out was eye opening,” he said.

“Many participants were amazed at the depth of the child abuse problem in The Bahamas, including incest. We spoke about the cultural forms of abuse. People would talk about how their parents beat them with a piece of wood or wire. What was amazing is that many would say they were thankful their parents beat them that way. But honestly, they don’t know how much further they may have gone if they had not received that kind of punishment. We talked about various forms of child abuse, even those as simple as denying a child their dinner. We want to bring the issues of child abuse to the national conscience and challenge the nation to respond.”

BAC is calling on churches, youth groups, public and private organisations and even the general public to participate in the week of activities. On Sunday, November 3, there will be an ecumenical thanksgiving service at St John’s Native Baptist Church, beginning at 3pm. Monday, November 4 to Thursday, November 7, BAC representatives will make appearances at the various schools and will also give out wrist bands with the theme “Protect Our Children”. On November 5, the group will pay a courtesy call on Governor General CA Smith. On Wednesday, November 6, the official opening ceremony will be held at the Harry C Moore Library at the University of The Bahamas at 6:30pm. The Child Abuse, Exploitation & Trafficking Workshop will be an all-day event held at the Holy Trinity Activity Centre beginning at 9am with lunch provided.

All members of the public are invited to purchase a T-Shirt and wear it on Friday, October 8 and stand in solidarity with Bahamas Against Crime to protect our children and preserve the future of this country. Corporate Bahamas is encouraged to invite their employees to participate. On social media, you can share appropriate photos or positive messages and use the hashtag: #protectourchildren. Call 325-4357 or 328-8984 for more information, or email bahamasagainstcrime@gmail.com.

Bahamas Against Crime officially started in 2005 with Rev Moss, Rev Dr William Thompson, Fred Munnings, Ken Pyfrom and Ken Lam leading the charge. At the time, they were making their voices heard as they warned that their contacts on the streets were talking of a ‘tsunami of crime’ about to overtake the capital.

“We warned that unless an intervention occurred, there would be a major crime explosion in the next few years,” Rev Moss said.

“We reached out to a cross section of society. The then prime minister responded by telling the nation that crime was not a problem for certain Bahamians… that if you were not associating with certain people you did not need to worry about crime. We warned them that you cannot isolate yourself against crime. It will find you wherever you are. We wanted to focus on prevention of crime from then. But the government decided to respond by focusing on the enforcement of law against crime. That is important, but we knew that it would (increase the gap) between the community and the police. As we predicted, serious crimes like rape and murder increased every year since 2005.”

BAC attempted to do their part to deal with the crime problem by hosting numerous youth programs and working with the Ministry of Social Services to present parenting workshops over the years. In addition, it has hosted numerous security training courses, led by former

Deputy Commissioner of Police Paul Thompson, Over the years, more than 400 people graduated from that course, and Rev Moss said nearly all were placed on jobs upon completion, noting that unemployment is a contributing factor to crime.

This year’s child abuse workshop is being held in partnership with Sanctuary, led by McCall Philippe (sanctuary.bahamas@gmail.com). Sanctuary’s goal is to advocate on behalf of survivors of human trafficking, sexual assault and sexual exploitation in The Bahamas and beyond. The group is committed to raise awareness, protect, advocate, collaborate, support, listen and empower. It also aims to provide a safe space for survivors of sexual violence by building a community where survivors are empowered to speak. Sanctuary is working towards a Bahamas where sexual violence is neither tolerated nor ignored, and survivors are provided the resources needed to feel protected, supported and empowered.

The conference is important so that all Bahamian children, like Makaio can be given the opportunity to shine and do their very best.