Shillong, June 18: The Faith Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting the rights of children and empowering youth in Meghalaya, met with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to discuss the organisation’s work and potential collaborations to address the pressing issues of child sexual abuse and youth empowerment in the state.
The meeting focused on the organisation’s comprehensive approach to child safeguarding, including its Personal Safety Education (PSE) programme, which teaches protective behaviour to children and empowers them with life skills to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse.
The programme has been successfully implemented in various parts of the country and has shown significant impact in reducing cases of child sexual abuse.
“We are committed to creating a safe and empowering environment for children and youth in Meghalaya,” said Shannon Dona Massar, Director, Faith Foundation. “We believe that our work aligns with the Chief Minister’s vision to harness the creative potential of the youth and create pathways for their development.”
“All about shaping the youth” said Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.He emphasised the importance of youth empowerment and the need to address the critical issues faced by children and youth in the state.
The organisation’s work has already shown significant impact, with 41 schools, 14715 students, and 1823 adult stakeholders reached out to across the state. The organisation is now seeking to expand its reach and implement its Child Safeguarding Policy in all government schools in Meghalaya.
“We believe that by working together, we can create a safer and more empowering environment for children and youth in Meghalaya,” said Shannon. “We are excited about the potential collaboration with the government and other stakeholders to achieve this goal.”
During our discussion he suggested partnering with other Government Departments. The outcome of the discussion was that the Hon’ble Chief Minister Conrad Sangma suggested partnering more with State Government departments and exploring existing programs that the Government is implementing for the children and youth in the State.
The future action plan is to present the overall roadmap for the implementation of the Personal Safety Education Program and the Child Safeguarding policy.
