Early Childhood Development Centers in Region Two to open soon
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Two Early Childhood Development Centres in Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) are to be commissioned this month. The facilities are stationed at Suddie and Dartmouth.
Regional Executive Officer (REO), Rupert Hopkinson.
This was made possible through a collaborative effort between the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) and the office of Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment Unit (PAYEU). The contract was awarded to Builder’s Hardware and General Supplies at a cost of $32,655,130 and was part of several projects signed under the seventh BNTF programme.
Regional Executive Officer (REO), Rupert Hopkinson told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the centres are “a wonderful initiative that will not only help with the development of the children, as they aim to meet their full potential but the development of the country.” According to the REO, these centres will provide training for unemployed and underemployed youths in the region.
Hopkinson disclosed that Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, and junior Minister Jaipaul Sharma, Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment Aubrey Norton, and Chairman of BNTF oversight entity, Bernard Lord among other government officials will be attending the official commissioning ceremony of the centres at Dartmouth.
Last year, the Ministry of Presidency through the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger and the Ministry of Social Protection facilitated an early childhood development workshop for 38 women. The aim was to provide the stakeholders with basic information and skills in early childhood development and nurturing care practices for the growth and development of young children.
Topics covered during the course included an introduction to early childhood development, the early years of a child’s life, basic nutrition and young child feeding, stimulating children’s learning through play, creating a safe and stimulating environment for young children in the home, providing nurturing care to young children, observing nurturing care practices at a child care facility, positive discipline and first aid training.
The participants were chosen from the Buxton Day Care Centre, Women Across Differences (WAD), the Lusignan-Good Hope Learning Centre, the St. John Bosco Orphanage, Sophia and the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana’s (CIOG) Georgetown District and other groups.
By: Neola Damon