Voices from Mocho presented by Temeisha Allen, Panos Youth Journalist

1. Voices from Mocho presented by Temeisha Allen, Panos Youth Journalist • Mocho in the parish of Clarendon – is a large rural community about 1.5 hours drive north west of Jamaica’s capital Kingston • The community is made up of 52 settlements nestled in the Mocho mountains • Mocho was chosen by Panos for the project because: • It was one of the worst hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 • It is very stigmatised as it has the reputation for being extremely rural or ‘the back of beyond.’ • With its years of bauxite mining it was key for issues such as climate change, land degradation and disaster management.

2. The Panos Mocho Oral Testimony Project • The project started in 2005 with 12 community members trained in oral testimony methodology. • They gathered about 47 in depth interviews from community members. The interviews were edited and the booklet, Voices from Mocho was published in July 2007. • There is a section in the book on climate change. One of the persons interviewed mention that in the earlier days they use to plant corn in August but now the farmers are confused and can no longer predict the weather that will indicate when they should plant.

3. Voices from Mocho • A number of training workshops were set up that covered: • 1.      Photojournalism and the environment. • 2.      Community vulnerability and hazard assessment • 3.      First aid and search rescue techniques. The last two were done in collaboration with the Jamaica Red Cross and the Jamaica Fire Brigade. • A decision was also taken to introduce a newsletter published every two months to communicate on issues of the environment and climate change as well as other community matters. The newsletter has been distributed both within the community as well as to a wider audience – nationally, regionally and globally.

4. Youth Journalist group • By December of 2006 Panos launched a youth journalist group. • This programme started out with 50 students ages 9 – 18. An elimination process took place where the students voice, speech and writing skills were tested. • 20 persons were chosen at the final round that now makes up the youth journalist group. The project has been a great success and has given a lot of exposure to young people like myself not only in the field of journalism but also a general overview of environmental issues affecting us.

5. Youth in action • The group focused mainly on environment issues that are current in Mocho. Basic journalism training was carried out. Training in news story writing, recording and interviewing were a few. The group visited radio stations, newspaper companies and recording studios where they produced Public Service Announcements on deforestation, pollution and other issues that are contributing factors to climate change. • Apart from the fact that Mochonians are intelligent and confident the programme gave youngsters the chance to highlight their many talents such as singing, story and poetry writing.

6. Youth in action • Phase 1 of the project ended in June 2007. Phase 2 of the project will resume on October 13, 2007. The group will be categorized into 3 groups – writers, proofreaders and editors for production of the newsletter bi-monthly. • Many of the participants throughout the entire project said that they felt a level of achievement within themselves and that they were no longer afraid to say they were living in Mocho. Panos Caribbean has created awareness in the community that climate change is real and in order for a better tomorrow they are working with some of the ground persons such as farmers and other community members in implementing strategies so that issues, which may result in climate change, are reduced.

7. The End • A Warm Mocho Thank you for your time and attention