LDS Church Presents on The Family: A Proclamation To The World 

In collaboration with The Child Protection and Family Services Agency and the Ministry of Health, the Nathan Ebanks Foundation hosted the 2nd annual Family Expo and Special Needs Resource Fair. This was held on the grounds of the Hope Botanical Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica on May 26, 2018. The event commenced from 10:00 am and continued through to 5:00 pm. It included presentations and expositions from various agencies, health screenings, a concert, fun games, and rides for the hundreds of participants including children with special needs.

Other organizations who participated include, the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, the National Parents Support Commission, the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Early Childhood Commission and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the only local church represented at the expo.

The event was hosted to provide families and children with special needs a safe and inclusive space, as well as a chance to interact with one another. With the various organizations present, the attendees were able to inform themselves about the provisions available for those with special needs. The event also created the opportunity for the public and the various organizations to share their views, including ways to support and celebrate the family.

In a presentation by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Patrice Whitehorne-Smith, and Mark Deans, spoke to the importance of the family in society as an ‘ordained institution,  central to the plan of happiness of God’s children’. They noted that the family was a fundamental unit of society, and that as Jamaicans sought to strengthen this unit, that the country would prosper. They also invited parents to take an active role in the mentoring and spiritual education of their children, as this had a positive effect in instilling values and reducing crime and violence. It was further explained, that children with more stable family units were more likely to be positive contributors to society. (See The Family: A Proclamation To The World - https://goo.gl/h7rDi1)