Child protection officers undergo week-long training

Youth & Careers

A total of 29 child protection officers from the New Guinea Islands region underwent a week-long training in Kokopo, East New Britain, last week.
The participants were representatives of districts in Manus, New Ireland, West New Britain and East New Britain.
The workshop was based on the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015, the Child Protection Policy and the operational and training manuals under the law. The participants covered 17 modules ranging from case scenarios to discussion points for the participants to relate to their own districts in their line of duty.
The workshop was so intense that most of the participants admitted that they lacked knowledge in some of the areas and practices as they understood the systems and mechanisms under Lukautim Pikinini Act.
The workshop ended with the graduation last Friday witnessed by the Community Development Secretary Anna Solomon and ENB acting Governor Cosmas Bauk.
Child protection officer for Namatanai, New Ireland, Isaac Boski challenged his colleagues to absorb the knowledge and apply it when performing their duties.
“Dealing with children is very difficult, we need to have more of this training from the districts to sub-national levels to enhance our capability and perform our duties efficiently and effectively for the benefit of children,” Boski said.
Bauk emphasised the need to seriously look at the family institution and enforcing the Lukautim Pikinini Act to create antidotes to cure other social issues.
“I believe that by creating a healthy family unit and instilling family values in our children will make us strong as a nation.”