The Rivers State Government has intensified efforts to strengthen grassroots child protection through the training of community representatives on Community-Based Child Protection Structures (CBCPS) across the state.
The five-day training, organised in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is aimed at establishing functional community-based structures to identify, report, and address child abuse and other threats to children’s safety and welfare.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Lauretta Davies-Dimkpa, disclosed this during the training programme for community representatives in Bakana, Degema Local Government Area.
She explained that the exercise was also taking place simultaneously in Degema Town and Tombia, bringing the number of training clusters in the LGA to three and covering all autonomous communities.
According to her, the Bakana Cluster comprises Bakana, Ogurama, also known as Old Bakana, Elem-Ama, also called Elem Kalabari, and Bille.
Davies-Dimkpa said the initiative would establish coordinated channels for reporting child abuse, rape and other forms of violence against children, ensuring that reported cases receive appropriate attention from relevant authorities.
She urged participants to take the training seriously and return to their communities as child protection advocates, stressing that their responsibility must continue beyond the five-day programme.
The Permanent Secretary also disclosed that the training would be extended to Opobo/Nkoro, Ogu/Bolo, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni and other local government areas in the coming weeks.
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One of the participants, Stella Davies-Iyalla, an indigene of Elem-Ama, described the training as an eye-opening experience that had equipped her with practical knowledge of addressing child abuse at the community level.
She said the programme had broadened her understanding of the Child Rights Act, different forms of child abuse, reporting procedures and the importance of confidentiality in protecting victims from further trauma and stigmatisation.
Davies-Iyalla emphasised the need for community-based child protection members to sensitise parents, religious organisations and schools on child safety, urging the Ministry to intensify public awareness campaigns across the state.
Similarly, Miepiri Bille, from Ogurama, commended the Ministry and UNICEF for the initiative, describing it as an enlightening experience that exposed him to various child protection challenges, including parental ignorance about children’s safety.
He said the training had taught him the importance of vigilance and ensuring that children were not left in unsafe situations or entrusted blindly to others.
Bille pledged to educate parents and children in his community on child abuse, trauma and personal boundaries.
He particularly warned about the dangers of street hawking, noting that children could be lured into uncompleted buildings and sexually assaulted.
On reporting rape cases, he explained that incidents would first be reported to the community head before being referred to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation and the Police for appropriate intervention.
He appealed to the State Government, the Ministry and UNICEF to extend the programme to all local government areas, communities and fishing ports, noting that child abuse occurs in different settings, including within homes.
The training brought together representatives nominated by their respective Community Development Committees (CDCs), including traditional and religious leaders, men and women leaders, market women, youths, teachers, vigilante groups and healthcare workers.
An Auxiliary Social Worker is expected to serve as the focal person in each community, coordinating efforts to identify, report, and respond to child protection concerns.
