In commemoration of this year Mother’s Day, mothers from the SOS Children’s Village Monrovia embarked on an outreach program at SD Cooper road community educating residents, specifically women about positive discipline, good parenting, child safeguarding and other relevant skills.

At the head of the delegation was Mother Ruthie Kantan, Monrovia Village mother representative who used the occasion to sensitize residents about personal hygiene and sanitation.

“As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we thought to reach out to residents of this community particularly the disadvantage and the needy.” Mother Kantan said. She indicated that the visit to the SD Cooper Road Community was the first of a series of planned visitations as part of this year’s outreach activities within Monrovia and its environs. “Our focus is to provide child safeguarding and other relevant skills to parents of various communities especially the most vulnerable,” she affirmed.

Speaking at the outreach program, Ruth Blamah, an SOS parent noted “taking care of your children is your sole responsibility as parents, therefore you need to play that role as a responsible parents.” Adding that “the minds of women need to be transformed, because our survival as women depends on our ability to adapt to new environment and to new mindsets,” she noted.

As part of the outreach activities children were also taught protective behavior as well as their rights and responsibilities. Over two hundred children benefited from the outreach program.  The children were provided with gifts in addition to the knowledge impacted.

In appreciation, Prince Somah, Community Chairman of the SD Cooper community lauded the SOS family for selecting his community for their outreach. “The gesture of the SOS mothers was timely and is welcoming by the women and residents of this community.”

The Chairman also said the children needed all the help they could get from other partners and SOS Children’s Village intervention was necessary. “The candies, biscuits, juice, cheese buds and the takeaway bags demonstrated your love for children,” he concluded. For her part the Marie Zogar, chairlady for the women of the community thanked the SOS mothers and said their visitation was timely. “The knowledge impact and the gift of food items will be remember,” she said.

The mothers of the SOS children’s Village Monrovia also participated in radio discussions on two local radio stations to provide education on similar topics.

SOS Children’s Villages Liberia is a member of a global federation working to protect and care for children who have lost parental care, or who stand at risk of losing it. The organization is working 135 countries and territories to ensure that the rights of all children, in every society, are fulfilled. The organization has been working in Liberia since 1981 and has impacted the lives of many children and working to empower vulnerable children and families.

POSITIVE PARENTING: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

Four SOS parents from Monrovia Village, took to the radio as part of this year mother’s day initiative. During the radio discussion the SOS parents talked about some of the challenges women face in trying to bring up children.

“Some of the challenges children face are the lack of (adequate) parental care, because some of the children lost parental care as the result of lack of care from parents” said Vera Kellah.

The SOS parents spoke on the Liberty radio and the United Methodist Radio. “We want to appeal to parents to provide guidance to children. If we don’t talk about things it means that the children who carry out these acts don’t have to take responsibility for what they do” she added.

When it comes to family life, everyone strives to figure out how to better the relationship between parents and children.

According to Josephine Francis Positive parenting work well for raising children with discipline and good moral values, and are every parents’ dream. Adding “it is important to know that the parent child relationship is a two-way, therefore it is actually a partnership between a parent and their child.”

The SOS parents maintained that when parents develop effective parenting skills, they are able to take the initiative in filling the generation gap. When parents start to understand the balance of where to place boundaries, where to encourage, and where to discourage, then their children will not get spoiled. In this way they become good parents. When people do not know how to be a good parent, distance between the two develops.

“Every young person has the potential power to help the entire world. They just needs the right guidance and support,” says Elizabeth Washington.

Though SOS parents are contributing to nation’s building by caring for children, the SOS parents said they feel like things are changing slowly but they need to see more people come together and do what is right.

People call on the show and ask questions. One thing that keeps on being discussed by the audience was the way some women and children dress.

Written by: Joseph Joboe, SOS Liberia Communications & Brand Coordinator