Pakuri residents benefit from parenting training
─ “We realised that we can’t work with the children alone, we must work with the parents too…” CPA’s Smith
by Alleya Hamilton
DPI, Guyana, Saturday, May 18, 2019
Milton Smith, a supervisor at the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) led a team to Pakuri (also known as St Cuthbert’s Mission) on Wednesday last to launch a Parenting Skills Training Programme aimed at educating young families.
He explained that the reason for the initiative was as a result of many reports his agency has been receiving from communities such as Pakuri. Some of these reports are cases of teenage pregnancies and child abuse. He believes that by targeting these communities, it will train young parents and even matured ones, to properly deal with their children. He identified those who have special needs since this seems to be a challenge for parents since they are most times not trained to deal with children who are born with disabilities.
The training is also aimed at helping parents and young adults distinguish the difference between scolding and child abuse.
“We realised that we can’t work with the children alone, we must work with the parents too, so that we can save as much families as possible,” Smith explained.
The programme began on Friday with residents of the community, including Toshao Beverley Clenkian, in full attendance at the community benab.
Referring to the community’s response to this initiative, Smith said, “we saw more than thirty-something households present today, and our target is fifty. So, we are implementing ways in which we can motivate residents to come out and be informed because the more they are, the more children will be saved.”
Images: Department of Public Information.