Focusing on the dysfunctional child

Dec 19, 2015 Editorial, Features / Columnists

As the Christmas holidays approach one cannot help but be drawn to the various shelters set up to cater for the indigent, the abused and the children who simply appear to be people that nobody wants. Things do not appear to be too bad at the orphanages because the children are often managed by people who are minded toward charity.
That feeling is prevalent in many people in the society. There are the private individuals, some of them barely above the poverty line who would try their best to share their fortune with the children in the orphanages. It is always an emotional sight to see ordinary people packing baskets to ensure that the less fortunate children enjoy a treat.
It is also common to see some organisations patrolling the streets in search of the homeless to offer them a meal. One particular organization, the Central Islamic Organisation tries to do this every week.
The Dharm Shala is often the magnet for the beneficent. It is one of the oldest charitable organisations that open its doors to everyone. And so it is that, at this time the residents of that institution may very well have more food than they can handle.
But it is the home for the children—the Drop in Centre, the orphanages and the children correctional centre that should be the focus of attention. These are managed by untrained people who have families of their own and who must be under tremendous stress and strain to seek to control and fashion the lives of these children.
Those controlled by the state have been able to enforce the rules that prevent abuses of the wards. Yet there have been isolated incidents, some of which have led to court action. But these facilities also have their share of sadness at this time. They accommodate children who share nothing emotional with their parents.
At one time, the view was that poverty forced people to fend for themselves to the exclusion of their children who must then fend for themselves. But this is not the case. The separation between parent and child is due to two factors, peer pressure and mental illness.
Peer pressure is allowed to triumph because the society is placing so many restrictions on the manner in which parents deal with their children. Parents are told that they should seek alternatives to corporal punishment. Many can think of no alternative so they give up.
The argument that corporal punishment leads to the development of violence in the child is not tried and proven. The world is full of examples of children who grew up under the belt becoming loving parents. They also became extremely respectful of authority. Those who became violent and resentful were those who always refused to accept authority and the rule of law.
Many of them were products of neglect and became conditioned to the harsh realities of the streets where love is not readily dispensed or shared.
Mental illness is the major contributor to displacement of the children. And there is a high degree of mental illness in Guyana. It explains the growing band of young criminals who seem to have no regard for life or limb. These are the repeat offenders because they simply cannot relate to law and order.
One expects the government to provide the people who would be the counselors and the psychiatrists, and in a country like Guyana where money is not at a premium such an investment may be worthwhile. The Ministry of Education may wish to consider one or two professional counselors in the schools. This would certainly reduce the extent of errant behaviour.
It would also help the child, on becoming adult, to be more receptive to the approaches of a professional counselor.
So it is that one is worried about the impact of the season on these children who have no place to call home. Perhaps there will be the development of some form of resentment or a chronic feeling of rejection. It may be a good thing for more of us to spend some time with these less fortunate. It may be a good investment.

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