35 Region Three residents undergo domestic violence, TIP training

Some 35 residents of Region Three were educated on topics surrounding domestic violence and Trafficking in Persons (TIP) through a training held by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, on Monday.

The exercise, held at Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara, was a result of a young girl reaching out to the Ministry of Education, after seeing a spate of domestic violence in her community.

The one-day training saw several officers from various agencies under the ministry leading out.

Alicia Lewis from the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Policy Unit, addressed ways to report incidents and how to seek help. Residents were also informed of the services provided such as the 914 Hotline and counselling.

Ms Daniella David from the Counter Trafficking in Persons Unit, led a session on how to identify and report Trafficking in Persons while Orette Francois from the Childcare and Protection Agency, addressed child abuse and how to respond, report and seek help.

In invited comments, several residents said the exercise was informative. 

Indera Persram said she learned a lot especially how to be a better parent. She is excited to share all that she has learned with others.

“I have learned a lot of things I didn’t know, and some of the things simply happen around me in terms of human trafficking, and I don’t even have a clue that there was actually human trafficking. I learned other things on childcare, where I learned how to be a better mother, like a child’s emotions, separation in families how they could cause a lot of things to happen to a kid’s emotion. I would love to share this with my colleagues, patients, a lot of people.”

“I learned about the different parts they have in the ministry that can help families and the one I really pay keen attention to is the programme they have that trains you on different courses of your choice and it could benefit you in the long- run,” said Mortlene Archer.

Nanda Smith, a senior citizen said she is interested and wants to know more.

“I learned a lot about child abuse, human trafficking and human services. I will go about visiting to find out more about it.”

Additionally, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, MP, distributed a total of 100 food hampers to residents and persons from Hague, as part of her commitment to provide support to citizens.