Zenona Clement Gread is the lead ICDP trainer and Programme Coordinator at the Ormoc office of Save the Children in the Philippines.
She is informing about the official launch of the new Child Sensitive Social Protection parenting module that took place on 15th of January 2020, at Hotel Alejandro, Tacloban City. The module was recently finalized and printed, after being tested in a pilot project that was conducted in the region during 2019.
The ICDP programme was included as one the central components in this new CSSP parenting module, called “Pag-unlad ng Bata, sa Kalinga ng Magulang Nagmula – “Parenting: the Foundation for Child’s Development”.
At the launch, the Regional Director, Marie Angela S. Gopalan gave a very encouraging message after the unveiling of the module. There were around 60 participants, including: 39 representatives from the Region 8 and 5 representatives from the Eastern Samar Provincial Social Welfare Office; 3 Facilitators; 2 parents, 1 child and 13 members of Save the Children Philippines and partner staff.
The activities included recalling the evolution and development during the making of the module (“The Journey”). This was followed by testimonies of behavioural changes after receiving the module, by 2 parents: a father from Ormoc City and a mother from Villaba. One child and 3 facilitators also bore witness to the positive impact. Their sharing was so convincing and inspiring that the Regional Director quoted some of it as reference for her reflections and insights.
On the photo above Zenona is conducting a demonstration at the launch, of one parenting session “Introduction to parenting and the concept of Empathy”. This gave the audience an idea of how the sessions are conducted and materials used.
In 2020, the work with the new module will be expanding to other municipalities of Leyte and other parts of Region 8. Save the Children have received a request from the Provincial Social Welfare Office of Eastern Samar for a facilitator level training to take place at their own expense – the module will be their programme strategy to address prevalent issues of parental neglect, teenage pregnancy and children in conflict with the law.
