PRESS RELEASE – THE Southeastern Caribbean College engages fathers in the “Saint Lucia Needs Fathers” movement.
The focus of this movement is to highlight the positive influence of fathers in our nation and to promote growth in our understanding of fathering and the equipping of fathers across the island with the knowledge and skills to fulfill their role in the lives of their children.
The strategy to achieve these goals include the training of master coaches in a fathering curriculum, the engagement of students in the “My Father, My Hero” poster competition and social media drives.
Fatherlessness contributes to many of the social ills currently facing our nation: emotional challenges, behavioral problems, low academic outcomes, high school drop outs, juvenile delinquency, imprisonment, adolescent murders and other societal problems.
Data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted in Saint Lucia in 2012 reveals that 50% of children between 3 and 5 years of age have no engagement with their fathers.
The Saint Lucia Needs Fathers movement will be launched at the Hope Center for Child,
Youth and Family Care and Development on Thursday June 7th 2018, at 10 am .
The Hope Center is on the first floor of the Morgan Building, Maurice Mason Avenue in Sans Souci (next door to the Office Shop).
Dr.Zifus James, president of the Southeastern Caribbean College and Rev. Courtney Richards, Clinical Psychologist and global mentor will be the initial facilitators.
The detailed program of events will be presented at the launch on June 7th. One aspect of the movement includes collaborating with the Ministry of Education to conduct the “My Father, My Hero” poster competition where students aged 5 to 17 will present their posters around this theme. Winners will be announced on July 6, 2018.
Dr. James expressed that he “envision(s) that this campaign will be ongoing and spur on a fathering movement in Saint Lucia, highlighting the positive paradigm shifts that fathers are making and empowering our men to be healthy fathers. Our hope is that this will make a serious dent in the incidence of fatherlessness in our nation.” (SLNF)