11.JULY.07

Four Caribbean Internship Programme (CIP) interns are now in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to work with the Roving Caregivers programme.

The interns, who arrived on June 15, will work in the areas of social work, education and media and communication with various Vincentian organizations geared at improving early childhood and parenting practices in the island.{{more}} The interns have, therefore, been placed at the Roving Caregivers Programme Office, Vinsave and Marion House, between June 15 and August 29, 2008.

The interns are students at the University of the West Indies, Mona, and have been sent to various Eastern Caribbean Islands, namely Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and Barbados.

The interns: Kaydian Armstrong (Education Intern), Marlene Turner (Social Work Intern) Cerita Buchanan (Social Work Intern) and Shaniek Parks (Media and Communication Intern) will work in their specific areas with the aforementioned organizations.

The Roving Caregivers Programme (RCP) will utilize the interns to assist with the National Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET) Level 1 for the Rovers, to improve their education levels and effectiveness as teaching facilitators. The interns will also conduct needs assessment of the community of Layou under the direction of Vinsave and counseling sessions in the island under the direction of Marion House. The promotion of RCP activities and program development at the Bequia and Sandy Bay community radio stations will also be undertaken by the interns.

According to the RCP Program Coordinator Judith Hull- Ballah; �The RCP program has been extending its area of focus to include parents and children in Colonaire. This, it is believed, will assist in the impact of the RCP on early childhood and parenting practices in St. Vincent. However, this expansion forms a part of the new phase of development for the RCP which is geared at Capacity Building and Advocacy. This phase is projected to be conducted between the years of 2008 and 2011. The interns will, therefore, assist in this endeavour�.