Educate parents to care for children

SERVOL said it had maintained for years that the genesis of this type of violence can be traced back to how the child was parented from the moment it was born to present day adding that it has two programmes which research and deal with these problems. The first is the Parent Outreach Programme in which trained facilitators visit the homes of pregnant women, and point out to them what happens to the new born child when it is left unattended and unfed, while the parents go about their daily tasks. Suppressed rage builds up in that child to be released when he/she becomes a young adult.

The second programme centres around the adolescent and is administered by a group of trained instructor, a statement from the NGO stated.

One of instructors is a former violent criminal, who many years ago was touched by God to give his time and experience listening to the outpouring of adolescents.

SERVOL wants to know when TT will witness some similar programme in the formal system of education which, it says, now makes little effort to confront the serious problems faced by young people. According to SERVOL, teachers in the educational system have to be trained to deal with the fundamental needs of the neglected and violence-afflicted children before their minds can open up to other aspects of education.