Twenty-four community health aides to benefit from ECHO training workshop

Twenty-four community health aides began a three-week training workshop under the Early Childhood Health Outreach project yesterday, Monday, January 10, at the Anglican pastoral Centre.{{more}}

It is the second workshop of its kind after a similar exercise was conducted in January 2010, when 19 aides from the Calliaqua health district were trained.

The three-week long workshop will deal with subject areas including growth and development stages, guidelines on early childhood development, parent learning, nutrition and the learning cycle – this according to Kathleen Mandeville, ECHO’s coordinator.

Participants will then do a four-week follow up practical session throughout the country, Mandeville told SEARCHLIGHT.

The Early Childhood Health Outreach project was officially launched in June 2010 and is geared towards early childhood development and the respective health care systems and services for vulnerable children three years old and under and their families.

“This training will enhance efficiency,” Sister Audrey Gilkes, Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health, said at yesterday’s opening ceremony.

Gilkes dismissed the initial claim made by some community aide workers that the new project would mean more work.

She, instead, was of the opinion that the project would make them better at what they do.

“We have vulnerable families and children, but our problem is not unique,” she continued, saying that similar issues existed in neighbouring St Lucia.

The Chief Nursing Officer did, however, express her optimism about the ECHO project.

“When we have better children, we have better communities and with better communities, we will have a better country,” Gilkes said. (DD)