Five psychosocial workshops have been held to train teachers from 21 East Coast schools and participants in Bartica to be first responders to children in times of crisis.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Minister within the Ministry of Education Dr Desrey Fox on Monday updated the media on the interventions in schools following the killings at Lusignan and Bartica. More than 140 teachers have been trained from the two communities in five three-day sessions.
The ministry had collaborated with the health and human services ministries, the University of Guyana (UG), the Guyana Red Cross Society and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to conduct workshops to boost teachers’ and schools welfare officers’ capacity to respond to children in crisis. Fox said this decision was made after awareness consultations were held with teachers from East Coast Demerara following the January 26 murders at Lusignan. The consultations revealed that in addition to the students, teachers and parents in those communities were in need of psychosocial care.
As a result, counselling and therapeutic sessions and psychosocial training were conducted for teachers at identified schools in the affected areas. Fox said too a request was made to the Joint Services to have ranks visit the schools to speak with children since several of them feared the officers.
Head of the Sociology Department at the UG Barbara Holder is co-ordinating the training.
Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy who was also attended the media briefing said the ministry was happy to be a partner in the intervention since it will complement its national psychosocial programme. The ministry also intends to establish ‘wellness centres’ in several communities where children could feel safe to go for counselling.
Marva Williams a representative from the human services ministry said that the ministry was working with the victims’ families and other affected families from Lusignan and Bartica. In addition to the psychosocial interventions, the ministry has also assisted in meeting the financial and physical needs of the families.
According to GINA, Unicef, the Canadian International Development Agency and the UK Department For International Development are funding the interventions.
