By ZACHERY PER
MORE than 30 volunteers in Eastern Highlands province have signed an agreement to assist in basic child trauma counselling.
The volunteers attended a four-week training focused on child trauma counselling conducted by Goroka-based Family Voice and the Law and Justice sector in the province.
The first two weeks of training was held in Kainantu and the final two weeks in Goroka.
The training was facilitated by Catholic Family Life and Save the Children in PNG and made possible by Family Voice and the Law and Justice Sector.
The 38 trained volunteers will be based at the Goroka and Kainantu Hospital to counsel children and women facing trauma.
Executive director of Family Voice Naomi Yupae said the contract was designed to address the problem of participants attending training and not implementing the concepts.
“The training was provided to address the increasing cases of child abuse being reported to service providers in the province,” she said.
“Participants were required to sign a contract of agreement to ensure that they made a commitment to provide voluntary services to the victims of family and sexual violence.”
Ms Yupae said they had been scheduled to provide counselling at the Family Support Centres where their progress would be monitored closely and supervised in order for them to fulfil their expectations to submit monthly returns to Family Voice.
Eastern Highlands Law and Justice Programme advisers Don Hurrell and Charles Barekas fully supported the initiatives.
They assured their sector’s commitment for more of similar programmes to curb abuses and violence in family and communities.