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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Child well-being under the microscope |24 September 2004

Members of a working group selected from a steering committee appointed by President James Michel, met recently to begin work on the plan, which will include a directory of child services and research studies for children and youth.

During his National Day address in June President Michel dedicated 2005 to the children of Seychelles under the theme “Our children, our treasure, our future.”

The working group, chaired by Antoinette Alexis, principal secretary for social affairs in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, also had the task of defining the well-being of Seychellois children and propose a plan that would address children's issues.

Following their two meetings, the working group presented an incomplete directory of services and a limited definition for the well-being of Seychellois children to representatives from different ministries, NGOs affiliated with children and students from English River secondary school.

In her opening remarks to officially launch the two-day workshop, Ms Alexis said that children were valuable assets to the country.

Ms Alexis said that we have all been busy playing our part in shaping the individuals who will tomorrow replace today's adults, and we have had little time to stop and examine if we are indeed making maximum contribution towards the well-being of our children.

The workshop, she said "is a stop in our daily routine of service delivery to allow us time to look at what we are doing for our children and how best to do it, bearing in mind that a child is a wholesome individual.

"It is a unique occasion today that we have representatives from all sectors of society who will find ways on how to work in a more holistic manner for the children's well-being," said Ms Alexis.

Facilitators from different ministries guided the workshop, which gave participants a chance to discuss factors that impact positively or negatively on child well-being. They also looked at how to measure the different components of well-being as defined by the working group.

At the end of the session, the participants had to come up with ways to monitor and report the well- being of Seychellois children and assess the effectiveness of existing programmes and services.
Following the assessment, they proposed goals and actions to improve identified gaps and weaknesses in the existing diagram of the Seychelles child well-being model.

 

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