Silver Lake, Bath Estate youngsters get tips on self-worth

A three-day program that will assist children, nine years and up in Bath Estate and Silver Lake, to improve their self-worth and to know their role in the community, is underway at the Bath Estate Community Center.

Coordinator of the program, Gloria Walsh, told Dominica News Online in an interview, that the time is right to concentrate on young children because of some of the negative trends taking place in society.

“It’s time now to focus on the young people because of the trend of things that is happening like violence, the consumption of alcohol, and drugs so we just trying to get them to have more self-esteem , self-respect towards society,” she said.

Family Life Educator of the Dominica Planned Parenthood Association, Annie St. Luce, said the program aims to help participants to be better individuals and to assist them in making more informed decisions.

“What we are really trying to do is to filter the information that comes to them and select what is good or best suited to them what is going to help them become a better person, human being, better child in the house, a better member of society; and what is it that their community and probably identify where their communities is failing them and get ways that they can interact to the leaders in the community and say hey that’s not good for us let’s try something else,” she said.

St. Luce pointed out that the targeted age group is vulnerable and the program is a holistic one which also includes some forms of sex education.

“It’s really a holistic approach looking at sex and sexuality as well because of the age group there will be like good touches, bad touches … but also good and bad relationships …. they are at the age where they are already attracted to the opposite sex, some of them may know a lot more than you expect them or you want them to know ….so they also need to know what should I expect at that age when it comes to sex and sexuality,” she said.

“Who am I as a sexual being? What should I expect and really stay away from?” are some of the questions that the session intends to explore, according to St.Luce.

She said they hope that at the end of the three-day workshop students will have some positive answers to their questions and they can now closely examine themselves and select things that are beneficial to them thus uplifting their stature in society.

The sessions include: Who am I? introduction to self, my role in my family, my role in my community, sexuality, good and bad relationships, how to treat the opposite sex in terms of self-respect.

The program is intended to be an annual one and is done through the collaborative effort of the Planned Parenthood Association, Carri Katz Peace Corps volunteers and Gloria Walsh.