Betty Ann Blaine, a prominent Jamaican children’s activist, has died.
Her death was confirmed on May 13 by the Jamaica Observer.
Known as the voice of the children, Blaine was the founder of the organization Hear The Children Cry, a children’s advocacy agency in Jamaica.
In a 2022 interview with the Jamaica Observer to mark the organization’s 20th anniversary, Blaine said: “We started in 2002 out of a crisis. The year prior to that, eight children had been murdered within a period of months, some in Kingston and one or two in other parishes. We mobilised, got children from primary and high schools to march in protest. That was the genesis, and I have to tell you that after 20 years we are still in this crisis of not being able to protect children adequately.”
She also founded Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), a mentoring organization that links caring adults with young people in a supervised program fostering the provision of care, guidance, positive role models, emotional support, and counseling.
A life of advocacy
Betty Ann Blaine dedicated most of her life to advocating for children’s rights, particularly in the areas of child welfare, education, and protection from abuse. Her outspoken personality on Jamaican radio made her a household name locally and across the diaspora.
As a child, she dreamed of being a teacher. Blaine attended the St Catherine Primary School, McMillan Heart Sunshine School in Mandeville, spent two years at Manchester High, then completed her high school years at Excelsior.
With no money to get her through university upon leaving high school, Blaine opted to migrate.
While in the United States, Blaine attended Medgar Evers College where she did an associate’s degree, and Hunter College, where she did a bachelor’s degree. Then she got a scholarship to Columbia University, where she completed her master’s.
Blaine’s work in children’s advocacy began with the Voluntary Organization for the Upliftment of Children (VOUCH), where she helped them secure sponsorship to keep the organization open.
She later started a number of groups geared towards helping the youth and children. She was also a lecturer at the University of the West Indies, the convenor of a third political party in Jamaica, New Nation Coalition (NNC), and the co-host of the Hot 102 FM radio show Blaine & Crawford, alongside Richard “Dickie” Crawford.
