198 social workers trained to cater for orphans in Enugu

Posted by admin Headlines Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

No fewer than 198 community-based social workers are currently being trained by the American International Health Alliance in Enugu State. The social workers are to identify and work towards meeting various needs of the less privileged children in the state.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony for the first 50 social workers, who had completed their training programmes in Enugu at the weekend, the Country Director, American International Health Alliance, Mr. Justice Ulunta, expressed confidence that the lives of vulnerable children were about to improve.

“We are graduating people we call Para-social workers; they are community-based care-giver who identify orphans or vulnerable children and vulnerable families within the local communities; and because of the trend of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria today, a lot of our children are made orphans via HIV/AIDS and apart from that there are other orphans here and there and at the same time their needs are not being met.

“So to identify these orphans or vulnerable children and at the same time work on meeting the needs of these vulnerable children becomes something that is very difficult and a need in this country.”
Mr. Ulunta explained that his organization, American International Health Alliance, was charged with the responsibility of carrying out a programme that was institutional-based; “and that is why we are partnering with University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Federal School of Social Work, Emene in providing skills needed to these care-givers to take care of orphans or vulnerable children in the local communities.
“AS a matter of fact, the programme is funded by US Presidency Emmergency Funds for AIDS Relief, through Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Nigeria; they are the people funding this programme and we are charged with this responsibility of training para-social workers.

“In Enugu State, which is the pilot state, we have been able to train 198 para-social workers who have gone through para-social work programme-1; because it is a six months training whereby they take the first training in the classroom, they go on what we call field work practice and they come back for five days re-inoculation training.
Enugu State Commissioner for Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ndidi Chukwu, who gave out the certificates, praised the efforts of the foreign partners, pointing out that the data from the programme would also help the state government in policy formations and execution.
She expressed happiness that the care-givers stay in the local communities, pointing out that going through the local communities would ensure the sustainability of the programme; “because, if it is a community owned para-social workers, then they will be able to access the need within their own communities.”

-Sunwp_posts