While teachers took industrial action last week Friday, 11-year-old Davion Daley was out with his placard at Emancipation Park agitating for Jamaica to say no to the ACP-EU agreement, which if signed, will see students like himself being taught immoral sexual content in the classroom.
“I really want to help and show that kids can go out and talk the truth, because kids will talk the truth if they know the truth. People shouldn’t try and hide the truth from the kids,” he said.
His mother, Sashana Daley, had taken a short break from her work as an insurance advisor to take Davion and his two siblings, eight-year-old Danomar and two year old Nathaniel to the park, where a peaceful, prayerful protest was organised by the Freedom Come Ministries International. The mother said it was important for them to advocate for righteousness.
“Jamaica is such a beautiful nation and if we continue to incorporate these evil agendas, then that will just be to the doom of us,” she said.
The agendas that she alluded to, includes the infiltration of the LGBTQI ideology in schools and some social programmes. The University of the West Indies has also developed a gender policy which will require all its stakeholders to promote what it calls ‘gender justice’. This will mean that students will need to be called their preferred pronoun.
“My sons are here with me, because I never want it to be a case where they feel it is okay to change their gender because the agenda says so. I want them to understand that God in Jesus Christ, is the one who created us. We were born male, we were born female and that is how it should be,” said the mother of three, who is supported by her husband in instilling Godly principles in her children at home.
“With the different agendas, we are robbing the children of their future,” she said, as her two year old held up a placard that stated, “No to LGBTQI agenda”. Her second son reminded passersby that, “Children are a gift from God”.
The protest, which started on May 24 at the park, continued until the following week and was taken islandwide on Wednesday.
The Freedom Come Ministries International was founded by senior pastor of the Tarrant Baptist Church in Kingston, Apostle Jeffrey Shuttleworth. He has remained militant in his stance against some of the governments’ policy decisions. These decisions include the recently announced massive salary hike for government officials, the seeming haste to push through the National Identification System (NIDS) despite public concerns, and the move to make Jamaica a cashless society.
Apostle Shuttleworth maintained that the protest would remain peaceful, as he guided persons to offer prayer until noon each day as they moved about with their placards in full view of motorists and the commuting public. Some motorists honked their horns and offered encouraging words as they made their way to their various destinations.
Age was not a determinant for 78-year-old Cedric Small as he stood on the sidewalk with his placard like the other protesters. The father of three said he needed to help send a message to Prime Minister Andrew Holness to seek God’s guidance in making decisions for the country. He did not disguise his concern for the younger generation, who he feels are increasingly being exposed to immoral lifestyles.
“The LGBT group will not take over this country and manipulate and mess up the minds of our next generation,” he insisted.
Lisa Thompson who returned to Jamaica five years after living in the UK for several years, made it known that she was prepared to protest night and day, if that was what it would take to save her beloved country from the clutches of demonic forces.
She said she wants Jamaica to be brought back to the feet of Jesus, and hoped that as many persons as possible will join efforts aimed at achieving this goal. She was aware of the nay-sayers who ridiculed the group as they protested, but she was not daunted.
“Unfortunately, they think it is a waste of time, but we know that we are taking territories for the Lord. We know that he says wherever the soul of our feet thread, we will take it,” she declared, as she held up her placard with the message, “Prayers have stronger signal than wifi.”
She too expressed concern for the nation’s children. She wants them to be fully engaged in Sunday School again where they would be taught how to pray and learn bible verses.
“We grew up on that and it is what is carrying us as adults; so we would want to do the same thing for our children, where they grow up knowing the God we serve; knowing that there is a greater God to be served and not man,” she said.