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Suriname to adopt local child home regulations
A delegation of Surinamese officials is seeking to copycat Guyana’s children’s homes regulation pattern among other child affairs programmes initiated by Minister of Human Services, Priya Manickchand.
This was revealed by Suriname’s Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Public Housing, Tania Sanrochman-Kioe Asen.
Asen, who led a delegation of Government officials on a visit to Guyana, said that Suriname is also interested in the local child labour legislation.
The Permanent Secretary and her team visited the country when the Human Services Ministry launched its minimum standards for children’s homes last Wednesday.
Asen, whose ministry is responsible for children, the elderly and the disabled, told the media that Suriname is also examining the operations of children’s homes in other countries.
She said that a policy to provide subsidy to children’s homes is currently being drafted by the Surinamese Government.
“We are currently looking at a coordinating role to monitor the process of child labour legislation,” Asen stated.
The Surinamese official noted that one measure being examined is the removal of children from their natural homes to a foster care arrangement.
“We are looking at other countries to exchange knowledge or operation of child protection services,” Asen disclosed.
The PS pointed out that the team is also visiting children’s homes to gain first hand knowledge of the legislative implementation.
She revealed that they have so far been able to visit at least two homes, the Joshua House and the St Ann’s Orphanage.
“We are examining the system to compare it with Suriname to see what we can adopt,” Asen said.
The Human Services Ministry has outlined 25 minimum standards as a baseline aimed at providing quality care to children.
Minister Manickchand stressed that the ultimate goal would be to reunite each child with relatives, but every case is not apt to reintegration.
In these circumstances, Manickchand stated, foster care would apply to those who are eligible.
Manickchand disclosed that there are over 600 children in institutional care, and only 33 can be reintegrated.
The minister indicated that 300 of these children must remain in care homes.
Guyana is a signatory to the Rights of the Child Convention.
Among the rights are: to ensure child rights are respected; promote the individuality of each child; enable the child to grow with a sense of belonging; encourage contact between child and family; respect privacy, dignity and personal expression; facilitate participation in sports; ensure child attends school; encourage the right to a religion; maintain a compliant procedure; allow participation in decision making; monitor visitors; assess staff fitness; reinforce socially acceptable behaviour; adopt emergency measures; aim to reintegrate children; provide a balanced diet; ensure hygienic practices and regular medical checks.
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