‘Every Child Safe’ initiative launched at Company Road Primary school

The ‘Every Child Safe’ initiative at Company Road Primary School, Buxton, East Coast Demerara, was launched by Human Services and Social Security Ministry, on Friday to increase awareness of child abuse at the community level.

Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud in a media related interview, said through the initiative, the ministry wants to help the public recognise warning signs of child abuse. It was noted that the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) hosted a sensitisation session with the primary students to educate them on all forms of abuse.

“I had a good session with the children on child abuse because that’s a part of what we will do through ‘Every Child Safe’, and also work with parents and members in the community to make communities safe, so we have less and less of child abuse,” the minister said.

Dr. Persaud noted that to curb the high number of reported child abuse cases in Guyana, government launched the three-year ‘Every Child Safe’ campaign in 2021, to expand its reach at the community level to eliminate such abuse.

It was revealed that the ministry also launched ‘Every Child Safe’ short story writing competition targeting children between the ages of 12 to 17 years, to create stories on child safety, child care, and child abuse.

Meanwhile, residents were also provided with the various services offered by the ministry.

“I think that this is the way to go because sometimes people get very frustrated trying to access services, and they, sometimes, are not aware of the services so this is a growing initiative, and I have found tremendous satisfaction in it,” the minister said.

It was revealed that Friday’s event also kicked off the ministry’s 592 Stop Trafficking of Persons (S.T.O.P) month-long activities.