Two-day seminar for CPO and CPC on creating a child friendly ambience

📅 October 15, 2016 • 📍 Dahanu

A two-day seminar on the theme, 'To Create a Child Friendly Ambience,' was held on October 15–16, 2016, at Auxilium Youth Animation Centre – Dahanu for Child Protection Officers (CPO) and Child Protection Commission (CPC) members from the Gujarat and Maharashtra states. Sr. Magdeline Sequeira, Directress of Sahayini Social Development Society, opened the seminar by posing questions related to Don Bosco's and St. Mary Mazzarello's approach to child protection, and inquired about the participants' role in the Child Protection Policy (CPP). The resource person, Mr. Siddharth Pillai of NGO Aarambh, spoke about his organization and others working to protect and safeguard children against sexual offenses. His highly interesting and interactive sessions included role-plays and topics such as Kinds of Trauma and the POCSO Act. Sr. Meena D’Silva, Manager of Auxilium-Wadala, gave a detailed explanation of the objectives of the FMA-India CPP, covering the Code of Conduct, Staff Recruitment, and practical guidelines. On the second day, Sr. Lavita Vaz of AYAC explained the module workshop on the FMA CPP designed for parents. Topics such as Networking with NGOs, Building rapport with the public and media, and Awareness campaigns were discussed in groups. Participants gave live demonstrations on engaging with children and parents, and offered suggestions to promote the CPP. Time was also set aside for CPOs to share their experiences in different communities. Sr. Magdeline explained the declaration form in the FMA CPP book and presented various video clips based on the policy. The seminar was a good and informative training experience.