NCFA launches My First Steps towards Safe Relationships
09-02-2014
Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat, a member of the NCFA Board of Trustees, launched at the Queen Rania Family and Child Centre, an affiliate entity of Jordan River Foundation (JRF), My First Steps towards Safe Relationships which is a new awareness manual prepared by NCFA.
During the launch ceremony, NCFA Secretary General Fadel A-Hmoud pointed out that the new package titled My First Steps towards Safe Relationships aims at raising the awareness of the children, their families, service providers and early childhood stage teachers on the most important issues pertaining to safe relationships with others in or outside the home. According to Al-Hmoud, the idea behind the new package was based on recommendations presented by targeted families in the parental awareness project who stressed the need to develop material that can help develop the self-awareness of their children especially with regard to their relationships with others so as to protect them from harm. He also added that the package was developed by NCFA experts to be later on reviewed by childhood protection experts.
According to Al-Hmoud, the preparation of the package comes in line with NCFA's role in executing its mandate and tasks that are centered around the adoption of pioneer projects relevant to NCFA goals, mobilization of technical support and assistance to entities involved with family affairs and the development of their human resources and working methods. The package, as he stated, manifests NCFA's concern with enhancing partnerships with civil society organizations.
On his part, Director General of (JRF) Ghaleb Al-Qudah stressed the importance of the partnership between NCFA, as a strategy and policy maker, and JRF as an executing agent that is present in all areas of the Kingdom through their local partnerships with civil society organizations, associations and service-providers. He indicated that the strategy of the foundation includes outreach, service-provision and awareness-raising on parental concepts and skills.
He also noted that JRF will work to promote the package by raising the awareness of the families and developing their skills in dealing with their children, emphasizing that plans are to deliver the package to 1500 Jordanian families with the help of JRF qualified trainers who will work to deliver it to the target group, families.
Al-Qudah also pointed out that JRF launched the Child Safety Program in 1997 with a mission to help families undertake their tasks in raising and bringing up their children by facilitating any requirements pertaining to intervention, protection and awareness of the needs of the Jordanian community. The program's objectives are represented in enhancing positive child-rearing practices for the Jordanian child for the sake of protecting childhood as well as identifying, tackling and eliminating all forms of abuse through awareness, protection and rehabilitation activities.
Dr. Suha Tabbal, Head of NCFA Childhood Unit, pointed out that the package contains family awareness material on safe relationships with others, including: an activities booklet, children songs, a working and coloring paper, a family pamphlet with an interactive guide for children and a puzzle. The package covers topics such as: development of safe relationships with others, dealing with strangers, warning signs and how to tackle them, proper parental practices on how to help children develop safe relationships, and how to help service providers and teachers develop safe relationships. Furthermore, the interactive tools included in the package provide answers to parents' frequently asked questions regarding the development of safe relationships in the early childhood stage which, if ignored, can affect the child's proper development of safe relationships in future
