The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) in partnership with Cricket West Indies (CWI) bowled off their 2018 UNICEF Child Protection Course on Thursday.
The workshop which was staged at the GCB’s board room, upper flat of the office building, Regent Road, Bourda, was geared towards providing participants with relevant information pertaining to child care, child abuse, child welfare and their management.
The course also highlights critical reporting procedures necessary to be adopted on the recognition of abuse and/or the observation of the potential for abuse. As such, the programme has been undertaken with the need to target individuals who deliver cricket activities with children, such as managers, coaches, potential coaches, players and teachers.
Participants during Thursday’s Child Protection Course
The main facilitator of the course, Senior Probation and Social Services Officer, Orette Francois indicated that the aim in conducting the courses is to share information that would enable participants to gain a purposeful and workable perspective on matters relating to child abuse, the prevention of child abuse, and the effective management of children.
Francois also alluded to the fact that coaches are persons placed in a position of trust, and as such, they have both a moral and legal obligation to uphold their mandate of effectively caring and protecting children under their charge.
Nicholas Fraser, Head of the Physical Education Department of the Allied Arts Unit, the Education Ministry, who assisted in conducting the session, facilitated essential group exercises geared at getting participants to adopt a realistic approach to dealing with matters of child abuse.
Fraser further pointed out that it was the approach to coaching which will greatly assist with enhancing the physical, emotional and psychological health of children.
The GCB in collaboration with CWI and UNICEF will be conducting other child protection courses during the month of July 2018. These courses will be conducted in Demerara on Tuesday July 17; in Berbice on Wednesday, July 18; and in Essequibo on Thursday, July 19. Efforts are also being made to have a similar course conducted in Upper Demerara on Friday, July 20.
The Child Protection and First Aid courses are required modules of the CWI Coaching Certification Programme and both have a validity of three years. Individuals desirous of gaining a CWI Coaching Certificate are also required to obtain Police clearance.
