By Our Correspondent
THE United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is targeting about 45,000 victims of last year’s flood that ravaged seven local government areas in Anambra State for psycho social support.
The local government areas are Ayamelum, Anambra East, Anambra West, Awka North, Ogbaru, Ekwusigo and Ihiala.
No fewer than 70 persons drawn from community, local government, state social workers and child protection service providers are already undergoing a training programme in Awka to implement the service delivery in the affected local government areas.
UNICEF child protection specialist in the Enugu Field Office of the world body, Victor Atuchukwu said on Friday that each of the local governments would support 6,500 people, including 40 children from each of the local government areas.
Essentially, the service providers would embark on family tracing and unification, parenting support programmes, formal and non formal educational programmes, assisted mourning and communal healing ceremonies, among others.
According to Atuchukwu, it is expected that care givers who meet affected children or families should be able to know how to make a referral to available social welfare facilities.
He also said they should be able to know where to refer child protection cases to ensure effective result.
A master trainer for child protection case management from Child Protection Network in Cross River State, Asari Nakanda said the good thing about the exercise is that the people being trained live in the affected communities and understand the terrain, adding that UNICEF has assigned them to assess the needs of the victims for possible intervention.
She said: “Many survivors of the flood lost a lot materially and they are living in fear. They need to be encouraged to live a normal life and be useful to their families and the society.
“Psycho social support is therefore meant to revive them and return their mental stability.”
