Hon. Yolande Bain Horsford among the kids and family members

Wednesday 12 July 2006, St. George’s:  Minister of Social Development Hon. Yolande Bain Horsford is high in praise of the Roving Caregivers Programme (RCP).

The Programme received the thumbs up from the Minister on Tuesday evening during a field trip through communities in St. David and St Andrew where the programme is in operation.

The Minister was accompanied by a team of workers from the Ministry among them was special coordinator for the programme Mrs. Dawn Cyrus.

The trip was geared towards assessing the progress of the programme.

Minister Bain Horsford was extremely impressed by the skills of the Rovers, the progress made by the children within their care and also the level of cooperation and participation of the parents.

During Tuesday’s trip Minister Horsford took the opportunity to encourage both the Rovers and the parents to make maximum use of the opportunity that has presented it self to make a positive contribution to lives of the children.

According to Minister Bain Horsford the Programme is one that will help shape the future of not only the children but by extension the nation, since she says “today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders.” She said “early stimulation is crucial because the values instilled during the early years of a child’s life can determine what he or she will become in the future”.(Caption below Minister Horsford, Children, Parents, Mrs. Dawn Cyrus and Rovers)

The RCP has 3 main objectives:

1.     The stimulation of children from birth to three by trained Caregivers

2.     Parenting Education and Parenting Support Programmes

3.     Income Generating Activities (IGA) on a small scale for parents

The expected outcome of the RCP is a change in parental practices and an increase in parents’ knowledge of Early Childhood Matters in order to enhance their children’s development.

To date over 350 children are registered in the programme of which 51 will be graduating to Pre-school. The Programme has also employed 30 young women from St David and St. Andrew.

The Roving Caregivers’ Programme (RCP) is funded by the Bernard van Leer Foundation through the Caribbean Support Initiative, UNICEF Ministry of Housing and Social Development.

Ministry of Social Development Tel# 440-2269 

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