The United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, in response to current issues relating to children, will be implementing a specialised training programme to address child-care protection issues.

Pastor at Hope United Church, The Reverend Dr Margaret Fowler, made the announcement on Sunday at the Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Week Church Service, to mark the beginning of a week of activities.

"No one will be able to work with a child in Hope United church unless they have done this training and are certified," she said, adding that, in addition to the training, ministers and other church leaders are required to provide a police record and references in order to work with children.

The six-week training programme, which is scheduled to begin soon, will target ministers and other persons working with children. It will equip them to identify issues in relation to child abuse, neglect, forced labour, and other issues similar to trafficking in persons.

"This is a new Jamaica and it is now time to step up, because, together, we can make our communities and Jamaica a safer place where it is harder for traffickers to operate or to hide themselves and their victims," she said.

Rev Fowler encouraged Jamaicans to break the silence against human trafficking, violence, murder and child abuse. "To be silent is to be unfaithful. so whether we have a faith tradition or not, we should speak and act against human trafficking out of our common concern for those who suffer from it," she urged.

She urged Jamaicans to take responsibility for some things that are happening in their communities, because they know what is happening. "The Government has tried no end to deal with the scourge of trafficking, but they cannot do it alone," Rev Fowler added, calling on the Church to play its part.