Child Protection week commences

Georgetown: The Childcare and Protection Agency in collaboration with Child Link held an annual walk in commemoration of Child Protection Week.
Activities for Child Protection Week spans from September 20th -26th.
Several dignitaries were present such as Benedict Madl, Head of Bilateral Cooperation at the EU, Child Link Director of Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) Ann Geer, Director of Childcare and Protection Agency Ann Green) and James Bond who attended on behalf of Minister Lawrence.
Director of the Child Protection Agency Ann Greene in her address said: “We must stand up for children, we must be a part of the solution, and we must not stay silent about the things that matter, as our children matter.” Greene, who is outspoken on the issue of child abuse in Guyana, is of the opinion there is a silence on the abuse of children in Guyana.
She further stated that: “Children are devastated, we patch them up and we help them to get on with life, but they hardly ever overcome the child abuse, so we got to stop child abuse from occurring”.
James Bond in presenting Minister’s Volda Lawrence’s address mentioned that “Child protection is an issue which cannot be taken likely, as the ministry is committed to dealing with the issue.” Bond further lamented the fact that the Ministry will be “using Child Protection Week to issue a zero tolerance against acts of violence against children.”
The event was used to promote the work of the agency, in terms of their foster parent programme as staff was present with their various slogans.
Child Protection Week runs from September 20 to 26, and a major event for the Week will be, the “Breaking the Silence on Childhood Sexual Abuse” rally.
This rally which is usually held in Georgetown has been moved year to Rose Hall, Region 6 on September 23. The theme for this year’s Child Protection Week is “Strengthening Families to Protect Children”.