Students within the Castries South-East region benefited from the capacity-building component of the Positive Parenting Programme conducted by the Community Services Unit of the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment.
The capacity-building programme focuses on addressing development issues among primary school students.
Hosted in March at the University of the West Indies Open Campus, the training specifically targeted students in the fifth grade whose parents participated in the initial phase.
Social Transformation Officer for Castries South-East, Antonia Rene-Marius, highlighted the significance of addressing societal challenges where young people lack positive engagement:
“Recognizing that there are situations within our society where young men and women do not engage positively with one another, the Community Services Unit has recognized the need to intervene through this pilot capacity-building programme for grade five students. Ultimately, this programme seeks to help them reap positive rewards, and thus become confident and productive citizens.”
Children from the Odsan, Bexon, Ti Rocher Combined, Forestière Methodist Combined, and Labayee Seventh-Day Adventist primary schools participated in the self-awareness and emotional intelligence training exercise.
Programme Facilitator Josephine Mayers stated: “We highlighted emotional intelligence because we understand its importance, especially as it relates to the development of empathy in understanding and relating to others’ experiences.”
Another area of focus was self-awareness, which involved being aware of one’s thoughts, feelings, values, and beliefs. Self-awareness enables individuals to navigate social interactions, manage conflicts, set meaningful goals, and cultivate healthy relationships.
The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive. Students expressed newfound understanding and empathy; “I learned that not everybody feels the same way, not everyone has the same opinion, and no one has the exact idea of your thinking,” noted one participant.
Fifth grade teacher at the Forestière Methodist Combined School, Ms. Fay Ragnanan, commended the planning committee for organizing a well-structured and interactive session. “I am very excited about this workshop. For me, it is very innovative and interactive. I learned to listen to the students as the way they appear may not be exactly how they feel.”