By Alhagie Babou Jallow
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare on Wednesday, 24th July 2024, commenced a two-day training of staff from care institutions on migration and child protection matters.
Held at NaNA Conference Hall, the training brought together 30 participants within the Greater Banjul Area and was funded by UNICEF.
In her opening statement on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Finance and Administration, Naomi Williams, spoke at length on the importance of the training. She said training of residential care workers is crucial as it would help the participants provide high quality care, ensuring the physical, emotional, and mental well being of residents. “It would help workers understand and follow safety protocols, reducing the risk of violence and exploitation against children and promote staff compliance with regulations,” she stated. She further revealed that the government of The Gambia has undertaken several measures to protect children in residential care institutions, adding that key among them include laws and policies to safeguard children’s rights; such as the Children’s Act 2005, which aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
On her part, the Shelter Manager Danty Kanji applauded the MoGCSW and UNICEF for organising such an important training, noting that the training is a crucial step towards enhancing the capacity of the staff at the care institutions in The Gambia to effectively address and manage the complex issues relating to child migration.
The UNICEF Child Protection Officer Marcus assured participants their unwavering support in the protection of children and encouraged them to take up the training seriously and share best practices in order to attain the common goals.
Speaking on behalf of the Directorate of Children’s Affairs, Filly Nyassi, Social Welfare Officer, noted that assessing risk and protecting vulnerable children is difficult and demanding. He called on the participants to take up the training seriously and make best use of the skills and knowledge assimilated during the two days training.
