Orville Wright
The North East Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, held a grand health fair on Thursday, May 28, at the Steer Town Health Centre, St Ann. The fair was held in commemoration of Child’s Month, under the theme ‘Child safety and security our priority’.
Janet Boswell, regional social worker gave the welcome and introduced the emcee.
Georgia Haffenden, social worker made a clear and straight forward presentation to parents on how to conduct themselves and to listen to their children. MsHaffenden spoke on the issues of child abuse in the homes and urged parents to play a more vital role in the lives of their children. She also said that small children were exposed to pornography in the home and that it was not right for young children to see such acts by parents. A few students from Chalky Hill Primary, Steer Town Primary and Steer Town Academy were in the audience.
The fair offered several free services such as checks for blood pressure, blood sugar, HIV tests, Pap smear tests and nutrition counselling. A presentation was also done by H. Samuel, mental health nurse. Ms Samuel also gave advice on building better relationships for better parenting.
The children also received toys and school supplies courtesy of Sandals Foundation. Several booths were set up at the fair from different government agencies. They included, Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), Registrar General’s Department (RGD) and the Child Development Agency (CDA)
