Georgetown, Guyana – (July 25, 2017) The Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, yesterday, opened the third component of its Early Childhood Development Workshop with 37 exuberant stakeholders, who said that they were grateful for the opportunity to learn how to become more nurturing mothers and caregivers to young children. The workshop, which is the first of its kind facilitated by the Office of the First Lady in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection, is being held at the Regency Hotel, Hadfield Street, Georgetown.
The objective of the three-part workshop is to provide the stakeholders with basic information and skills in early childhood development and nurturing care practices for the healthy growth and development of the young child. The first component started on June 19, 2017 and was held at the Guyana Nurses Association. It was followed by the First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training, which opened at the Guyana Red Cross Society (GRCS) on June 26. At the close of the workshop, participants who fulfilled the requirements of all three components will be certified.
Facilitator of the workshop, Ms. Paulette Bollers said that she was pleased that the women had persevered and that at the close of the week they will graduate.
Some of the participants in First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger’s Early Childhood Development Workshop
Meanwhile, several of the participants, who were drawn from the Buxton Day Care Centre, Women Across Differences (WAD), the Lusignan-Good Hope Learning Centre, the St. John Bosco Orphanage, Sophia and the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana’s Georgetown district and other groups and communities, expressed gratitude to the First Lady for hosting the workshop.
Ms. Candaice Watson of Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD) who is employed at a day care centre and who aspires to, one day, open her own child care facility, said that she has benefited tremendously from the workshop. “This workshop has taught me so many things that I didn’t know about children; I’m still learning. I really love children … and I’m really grateful to the First Lady for this programme because I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time,” she said.
Ms. Candecy Burnette, a caregiver at the St. John Bosco Orphanage, who hails from Plaisance, ECD, said that the workshop has given her some new insight into her role. “I’ve learnt so many things that I didn’t know and [the workshop] has helped me to work with them and try to understand them [in a different way],” she said.
The programme was chaired by Confidential Secretary to the First Lady, Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d) Yvonne Smith of the Office of the First Lady. Facilitator, Ms. Shavon Chester and Clerical Assistant, Ms. Glenis Grenion also attended the workshop.
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