Community’s help a must in child protection efforts

– President Jagdeo calls on religious leaders to be more aggressive

By Janelle Persaud

The importance of community involvement in protecting the country’s children was reiterated when President Bharrat Jagdeo commissioned the Gy$25 million Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) Building, situated at Broad and Charles Streets, Charlestown, Georgetown, on Friday, May 6th.

The building has been upgraded and furnished to provide a child-friendly environment, even to featuring a play park in the compound.

Child Care and Protection Agency Director Ann Green described the event as a milestone, thanking President Jagdeo for fulfilling a promise he made over a year ago. According to Green, since its official establishment in 2009, the agency has responded to the needs of some 5,513 mistreated children, and has found 828 safe places to protect them from harm and abuse. Another 6,922 children and their families were also able to receive psycho- social support.

“… in spite (of) all of our efforts, we were not able to protect all the children that needed protection,” Green lamented, as she cited challenges such as large case loads and insufficient staff members. However, the biggest challenge to the social worker is the need for enhanced community involvement in protecting children.

“There must be structured and well- organised government-in-community responses to children in need of care and protection,” she added, while acknowledging that the number of reports of suspected cases of child abuse has increased recently.

“The Child Care and Protection Agency is up for the task, and is better able to do so now with improved accommodation and more staff; but we cannot do it alone. There must be involvement of civil society and community groups, including faith- based organisations.” This message was also echoed by President Jagdeo, who has, for some time now, been preaching about the need for the community to be involved. On Friday, he focused on the role of religious organisations, which he believes are the best partners for the job.

“I see as our natural allies the religious organisations of our country. They have a presence in every community in Guyana, and they can be our eyes and ears on the ground,” the president suggested, as he opined that this is the only way success will be guaranteed.

Jagdeo disclosed that he plans to meet with the religious leaders, because they need to be more aggressive in their current work in this respect.

The president also thinks it necessary for Guyanese to ensure that their conversations are productive in nature and in keeping with good moral suasion. “The environment that we raise our children in is important; and very often this environment is characterised by crudity, loose talk and graphic images, without any regard for decency and for ourselves.

“It happens in the street corners, it happens in the homes, it happens in schools, it happens on the television. Everywhere (it happens)!” He is recommending that all citizens stand up with one voice and condemn certain acts, such as “paedophiles appearing on television and doing talks shows”. This, Jagdeo stated, is the only way to end the negative influences on children.