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In La Trinidad, Benguet,
Northern Philippines, a significant number of children and
young people are listed as Children in Conflict with the Law
(CICL) or children at risk. This means that these children
have had a run in with the law or are at risk of having one
in the near future. Many reasons can be attributed to this
but one of the most significant - as mentioned by the
children themselves - is the lack of parental guidance and
their impaired family relationships. Children look back and
often blame their family situation for their circumstances.
Because of this, CFSPI has considered 'the link between
parents and children' a good working point. "We want to
bring both groups together in a peaceful and safe
environment to express their feelings and thoughts about
different subjects that will interest them both" said CFSPI
social worker Efren Cabbigat.
CFSPI and the Municipal Social Welfare Office (MSWDO) in La
Trinidad have been conducting life skills training for 17
young people and it is evident that the participants
fervently desire a more cohesive relationship with their
family. During initial meetings with parents, the parents
agreed that because of their efforts to make ends meet, the
rearing of their children has come second. It is from this
situation that the children were misguided, seeking help
from their peers who often influenced their bad behavior.
Once the child is involved in these kinds of activities, he
subsequently becomes more dysfunctional, which affects his
parental relationships and makes it uncomfortable for both
parties.
In fact, says Mr. Cabbigat "during the session that taught
values, it came out that most of the participants took
family as the one of the most important aspect in their life
indicating their deep longing for the care and love of their
parents." By hosting a child and parent encounter the goal
is to help parents and children to empathize with each other
and to increase the cooperation between all the family
members.
Over a three day workshop, the children and parents took
part in various activities and games to build up their trust
for each other and to bridge a solid relationship between
them. Seminars informed parents what their children's needs
are and how to assist them so that they can nurture their
children's full potential. In the same manner children were
taught about the values of respect and their roles of
responsibility within the family. Together the parents and
their children also practiced the values of forgiveness and
kindness for each other. The four main objectives of the
encounter included parents and children identifying the
strengths, weakness and potential of their family, helping
parents improve their use of effective strategies to
strengthen family ties, clarifying roles and
responsibilities in the family and improving communication
and problem solving skills.
This is the third Child and Parent Encounter hosted by CFSPI
with 15 sets of parents and children participating in this
encounter "We've tried to reach the families which we know
are dysfunctional. We don't involve all the family members,
but focus on the members who have the most conflicts and
problems" said Mr. Cabbigat.
This is just one of the many workshops that CFSPI hosts for
Children in Conflict with the Law and Children at Risk as
part of our Goal 3 - To promote Restorative Justice through
innovative and effective prevention, diversion and
rehabilitation programs and through strengthening
partnerships to address issues of CICL, Youth at Risk and
their families.
For more information on the Parent and Child Encounter
please contact Mr. Efren Cabbigat, or for more information
on any of CFSPI's programs please contact us.
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