A screenshot of a YouTube video of the Ackee Walk television episode “Best Interest of the Child”. Take a stroll down Ackee Walk, where children have fun while learning about their rights and responsibilities. Need directions? Well, it’s actually an imaginary community somewhere in rural Jamaica, created by the energetic youth advocate and media entrepreneur Emprezz Golding and her husband Steven. Ackee Walk is a weekly children’s television puppet show for three to nine-year-olds, which has been running now for eleven weekly episodes, each with a theme related to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The series airs on Television Jamaica every Saturday morning and can also be viewed on the program's website and on YouTube. Let Emprezz and the star of the show — communications student Makeda Bawn, aka “Lucea” — tell you more about it. Emprezz Golding talking to a little girl at the Kingston Book Fair in March, 2016. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission. Global Voices (GV): What was the genesis of Ackee Walk? What inspired you to create this show? Emprezz Golding (EG): Having a son and working with children in my advocacy guides me in my creative and business endeavors. I searched and searched for readily accessible modern day children's programs that promoted good values in a Jamaican way. I did not find much, so I decided it was time to create what I wanted. Most importantly, I wanted to educate, entertain and empower our children while providing job opportunities for youth and others in the creative industries. During a trip to Brazil for Talk Up Yout [a youth empowerment program founded by Emprezz] I found some hand puppets that looked like most Jamaican children. I bought them for my son. He made up stories and songs and after some sessions, with my husband involved, Ackee Walk was a no-brainer – a must — an exciting new product. We put it down on paper. We shared the vision for the program with the General Manager at Television Jamaica and with UNICEF Jamaica , and the team for Season One was born! Makeda Bawn (MB): Emprezz Golding is a phenomenal woman! I am thankful to be working with her. I first met Emprezz in person during one of her school tours at my alma mater, Glenmuir High School. I remember showing her some of my poetry pieces. However, it was always hard to get through to her because of her busy schedule. Little did I know that she would change my life with just a phone call. My good friend Dominique Davis re-introduced me to Emprezz. Dominique and I were one of the lucky few who had the opportunity to participate in Phase Three Production’s two-week workshop in the summer of 2014. We worked together on a short film, ‘Broken House with Forgotten Voices’. Emprezz saw the film and got in touch. She liked my creativity and writing skills. She began to mentor me and I started writing short online articles that were occasionally posted on the Talk Up Yout Facebook page. Makeda Bawn at the University of Technology campus in Jamaica, where she is studying communications. Photo by Emma Lewis, used with permission. GV: This is a children's show with an underlying purpose. How do you see yourself reaching the children? EG: Ackee Walk is a cultural product that we would love to see exported globally. We want to teach the world's children — and parents — about the rights and responsibilities of the Child. We teach good manners, respect, caring, love for Self, community and the environment. MB: I was a sickly child growing up, and I still have health issues; I wanted to be a pediatrician to care for and help children. Ackee Walk enables me to do so, in a different way. I help them by molding their minds. I teach them through puppeteering, playing the part of the little girl Lucea, a pre-schooler in rural Jamaica. Ackee Walk is more than a puppet show. It is a cultural retention program. It is a program designed to empower the young ones at an early stage. Children must know their rights; it is our responsibility as a nation to ensure that they do. GV: Makeda, do you identify with your character, Lucea? How do you bring her to life? MB: I can relate to her. She brings out the child inside me. We have similar stories. I was also raised in a rural area of Jamaica; I too lived with my grandmother for some time, before starting primary school. We both understand the emotions of the ‘barrel child’ and having to adjust to a change in environment. We are both smart, funny at times. Lucea always brings something special on set. Puppeteering is an art that requires a lot of focus. There are special techniques in entrance and exits, lip synchronization and mouth action, with the downward movement of the thumb and fingers up. It is also important to maintain eye contact, to connect with the audience.