Minister of Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs, Gloria Shillingford, said she wants more work to be done when it comes to the well-being of children in Dominica.
“Despite Dominica’s reasonable progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goal there will always be more work to be done with respect to the well-being of children as well as fulfillment of obligations to them in keeping with the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Dominica is a signatory,” she said.
Shillingford was speaking on Wednesday during the opening of a joint national consultation here which aims at developing policies and programmes to aid in improving the quality of life of the nation’s children.
The consultation is being held under the theme “Visioning and Planning for Children in Dominica.”
Shillingford noted that children account for 39 percent of Dominica’s population and is one of the most vulnerable groups. She noted however, that as part of a National Framework policy government recognized the need for more child friendly policies.
The key objective of the national consultation is to bring together government ministries, departments, civil society organizations and others working for children in Dominica to develop a strategic plan for cooperation between Government of Dominica and UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area.
The one day consultation is being hosted by the Government of Dominica and UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area.
Various presentations will be conducted throughout the day on Growth and Protection Strategy, National Government Priorities for Children, Situation Analysis of Children in Dominica and UNICEF Multi-Country Programme Action Plan.
There will also be discussion on Key Priorities for Children in Dominica.
A comprehensive public policy for violence against children does not exist in Dominica and efforts are being made to upgrade the child protection data system at the Social Welfare Division and to bring all legislation for children into conformity with the Children’s Right Convention.
your the minister of community development and you not even taking care off your own community of wesley shame on you
Papa bondier stop the talking i want to see action, put a telephone number i have a few reports to make that i need addressed, i have made some previously to no avail, no follow ups,like it fell on death ear, SO SAD THAT ALL WE DO IS TALK
Cousin Gloria, you were elected to look after the welfare of the people of Wesley; children are among the people of Wesley; what have you done for the people and children of Wesley.
I hear nothing!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah: If the information I have is not true, incorrect or a fallacy by any stretch of my imagination, or the imagination of the people of Wesley, I would like you state here on DNO what in the physical have you brought to the village.
Name something which you brought to the village that can be seen with our eye; and please do not mention the free house given to Johnson Telemaque, for I do not believe he deserved it, since he has never done anything constructive to assists in the development of our country, except been a political tool, and poppet.
Please do not mentioned the one sheet of plywood, and the one sheet of Galvanized that was given to my sister Marie; your cousin just prior to you getting elected.
I suppose that is what my sister is living under, I will tell how she utilized her great gift. She dug a trench four feet wide and planted the plywood, and then she nailed the sheet of Galvanized unto it, and then moved a bed chairs, and perhaps a pit hole under the galvanized, and made it her home.
I hope you are comfortable when you are invited to have dinner with her cousin Gloria!
You know you are nothing more than a waste of time, all you do is talk, talk, talk, and nothing more, you ignore the people of Wesley. Our people expected better from you, you have yet to deliver anything, you should be ashamed, and get out of this thing and keep your dignity in tact.
Tender your resignation with pride, hence you will be remembered for the good school principal you once were. You have literally destroyed all you have accomplished as a teacher since you involved yourself into politics.
When it is all over how are you going to live in a community among the people of which more than half of us are your relatives whom you have ignored, and done nothing for.
In order to redeem yourself, and regain the respect of your village people, I suggest you resign and tell the truth to the people; tell them you quit because you have no say, you are powerless to make any decision in regards to bringing any project that could have provide employment for a single person in the Village.
Tell the people of Wesley the almost completed fifty room hotel in Portsmouth, they say was too good for Wesley, hence Douglas City became the favored place to build it.
True Wesley man, if you did not know you have heard it first from me.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
FET,
Why dont you come down, and spend a mouth.COME down and see wesley, FOR YOUR SELF. You can stay fort young as I guessing your sister’s residence is not fit for a king like you.
You so boasta and politicians having to be giving you sister “A plywood.”
Please stop embarassing yourself! As i said before NO ONE CARES FOR YOUR comments.
Sen. Bazil going to get a further licking next election.
WESLEY IS LABOUR NOW!
nonsense gloria u all about lie……….. stop foolin the ppl of wesley n woodford hill
moreover, violence against children should not be limited to just physical or sexual. we need to acknowledge the verbal and psychological abuse children endure as well. also, more needs to be done to support mothers who are in need of assistance in various forms to be sound and effective mothers. Don’t rush to separate mother and child when a little help is all that’s needed to keep a family together and a child emotionally balanced. too often, the welfare dept rushes to separate and place the child in the care of others. Money is not all. If a young mother is not wealthy, but is determined and loves her children, more damage is done to the child when placed in another environment simply because of the wealth gap. How can this child grow up without believing that money is all and not love?
More can be done. agreed. first, publish the statistics on the rate and levels of child abuse in Dominica. In order to do more, we need to know exactly what we are dealing with.
A comprehensive public policy for violence against children does not exist in Dominica and efforts are being made to upgrade the child protection data system at the Social Welfare Division and to bring all legislation for children into conformity with the Children’s Right Convention.
UMMMMM this should have been done ages ago!!!!! That is why this mess of a social welfare system exist in Dominica – everyone is all talk, talk talk and no damn action. For so long? Do you know the amount of injustice that abused children has suffered here in Dominica over the 15 years? This could have been avoided – being a victim of the incompetent and uncaring managers in this system, I going back and cry!
What reasonable progress? all these people who are in the position to make these changes have been talking for to long, start acting!
what is violence against children??????? only when an bone is broken it is seen as violence in Dominica…………I rather be water boarded then to receive beatings with leather belts and whips…..when is this going to be seen as it really is…nothing but violence and torture and cruelty inflicted upon a child
Tiny, spare the belt , spoil the child. Talk, talk, talk.. does help alone. Don’t brutalize but use it when necessary.