WHP trains child protection officers

By PIUS MON
WESTERN Highlands is the first in the highlands region, and most probably the whole country, to train child protection officers (CPOs) after the national government passed the Pikinini Act.
A total of nine welfare officers selected from the seven districts and sub-districts of the province attended a week-long Unicef-sponsored workshop on the act at Magic Mountain, outside Mt Hagen.
During that closing ceremony last Friday, deputy provincial administrator for policy and advisory services Pym Mamindi said the future of our young Christian country was with our young children.
“If the county is to change for a better tomorrow, it has got to began with our young children basing at family units,” he said.
He said many adults today did not seem to take advice from the elderly people or their parents and continue with their bad activities thus adding more problems to existing ones in our communities nowadays.
Mamindi said: “Our children can learn fast when they are at a very young stage and will grow up with the right stage of mind and stay out of trouble and problems.”
He added that the onus was now on the parents to ensure that they teach the right methods in life on their children so that they grow up and to be good citizens and make positive contributions to the development of the country.
He said the recently passed Pikinini Act was the best act as we would build and manage our children, while at the same time, protecting them too.
Mamindi said the altitude of our generation now was to serve and not to be served, adding that if all citizens can help contribute to the development of our country we will have less law and order and more developments.
Meanwhile, assistant secretary for community development Dulcie Niba said the workshop was to train the child protection officers on the information captured in the act and equip them to build their knowledge and understanding on the act.