The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MOHSSS), in partnership with UNICEF Guyana and with funds from the Canadian government has recently concluded a one-week Early Childhood Development (ECD) capacity building session with Registration and Licensing Officers, Child Protection Officers and Primary Caregivers countrywide.
The training included sessions on Early Childhood Development Practices, Schedules and Routines for Childcare settings, analyzing diverse facility scenarios, Registration and Licensing Officers Portfolios and Assessments and the Importance of play in the early years to name a few.
The Care Providers along with the RLOs and CPOs were also engaged in a one-day training on the effective use of the 100 early childhood development kits that were donated sometime last year.
During the certificate ceremony Honourable Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud congratulated the participants on completing the sessions and charged them to share their new knowledge with peer and parents in their respective regions.
“I have no doubt that we will see the elevation of care as it is provided across all the regions in Guyana. For many regions it may be newer than others, for other regions it may require changing things a little differently moving with the fast-paced progress of our country so that we can provide what is needed for the parents and children of today’s generation,” she said.
She commended UNICEF and the Canadian government for continuously injecting resources to enhance childcare delivery services in Guyana.
Also congratulating the participants was Mr. Nicolas Pron, Area Representative of UNICEF Guyana and Suriname who highlighted some key factors that are necessary to ensure children achieve their full potential. “As is their human right, they need health care and nutrition, protection from harm and a sense of security, opportunities for early learning, and responsive caregiving with parents and caregivers who love them,” he said.
He added, “I am most certain that this training has provided you with the necessary tools needed to further enhance the oversight you provide in ensuring that the caregivers understand that the first 1000 days of a child’s life matter and we look forward to seeing great outcomes from the different facilities.”
His Excellency, Mark Berman, Canada’s High Commissioner to Guyana and Suriname who also attended the certificate ceremony cheered the participants and the MOHSSS for their efforts to expand and spearhead early childhood development in Guyana. “I want to thank you all for being part of this effort to ensure equal delivery of quality early childhood services to all of Guyana’s communities no matter how remote,” he said.
The High Commissioner also revealed that Canada has announced a CAD$9.5-million-dollar collaboration with the government of Guyana to train two thousand students in the technology sphere. “These students’ successful entry into this programme is a useful part during the quality of early childhood development and Canada is proud to support both ends of the learning spectrum,” he said.
Officers attending the trainings have touted the sessions as informative since they have learned many new techniques to enhance their service delivery when interacting with children and parents.
Orette Francois, Child Protection and Senior Probation and Social Services Officer said, “The sessions have given me knowledge that I didn’t have before. I know early childhood is critical in the development of children, however, I did not know the techniques to bring out certain things. In my capacity, this will now help me to incorporate what I would have learnt here in my ordinary parental training to assist parents to get their children at a better level.”
Duanne Mc Farlane, Registration and Licensing Officer in Region 10 said, “It was a refresher for me because I am early childhood trained, but with the added information I will go out to my Daycare Centres and share my knowledge and engage more with the supervisors so they can enhance the knowledge and skills better in their facilities.”
Huette Moore, Senior Childcare Officer said, “The session brought new light to what is happening in our community today and some of the challenges that daycare and caregivers face along with how they deal with the children. Being a part of the training brought the knowledge to know what is expected to happen in the daycare to stimulate learning and helping the children meet their utmost development as they grow.”
To further promote early childhood development in the regions, UNICEF handed over 300 banners to the MOHSSS that depict Positive Early Childhood Development messages for Parents and primary Caregivers. The messages written in English, Spanish and Warrau languages are expected to be placed in childcare facilities across the country.
