GCB child protection courses commence

Jun 30, 2017 Sports

By Zaheer Mohamed
Child protection is the protection of children from abuse, harm or neglect. It is the responsibility of coaches to care for children in such a way that neither they nor others cause harm to children, and to report and record all

Guyana Jaguars Captain Leon Johnson (standing right) interacts with Nicholas Fraser during yesterday’s session.

concerns related to a child being harmed.
More so when a child’s parent or guardian leaves their charge in the coaches’ care for a morning or afternoon of cricket, that parent expects that his or her son or daughter will be in a safe and protected environment during the time that they are under their supervision. A lack of commitment by coaches to ensure that the parent’s expectations are met may result in serious consequences.
With this in mind, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has held the first in a series of Child Protection courses across that would be held across the country, yesterday. The first course commenced at the GCB boardroom and is intended to target individuals who interact with children on a regular basis, such as cricket coaches, players and teachers who act as coaches.
Yesterday’s programme involved current national coaches, assistant coaches/managers, and Cricket Guyana Inc. contracted and academy players including Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson, Raymond Refier, Keon Joseph, Rajindra Chandrika, Christopher Barnwell, Keemo Paul, Nazeer Mohamed, Esuan Crandon, Michael Hyles and Rayon Griffith and Orin Bailey.
According to GCB Territorial Development Officer (TDO) Colin Stuart, the aim of the programme is to provide coaches with the necessary tools and to be aware of the expected requirements when coaching since children’s welfare is very important.
Stuart pointed out that it is vital to provide a safe environment when coaching, to ensure that parents’ requirements are met as well as air play. He further explained that it is necessary for coaches to recognise that abuse can occur when children are at any age and everyone connected to the programme has a responsibility to ensure the safety of children.
He further noted that that child abuse take several forms including physical and verbal harm, emotional or psychological harm, sexual molestation or exploitation and neglect. Taaliba Speede a Child Care and Protection Officer attached to the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) said they are happy to be part of the programme and to impart knowledge so coaches can be well equipped to deal with a situation as it arise.
Apart from Speede, other facilitators were Nicholas Fraser of Allied Arts and Head of the Physical Department in the Ministry of Education and Phillip Anthony, another CC&PA Officer.
The programme is being sponsored by Cricket West Indies and UNICEF. The courses will continue in Berbice and West Demerara on July 10 and 11 respectively, the GCB’s Board Room on July 12, Upper Demerara on July 13 and one day later on the Essequibo.
The Child Protection and First Aid courses are required modules of the CWI Coaching Certification and both have a validity of three years.

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