The Diocese has reached women in their communities and identify their appropriate need regarding child care and rearing. We hold that a child is the gift of God to humanity and should keenly be loved, respected and protected. Community development in any aspect requires human labour who would work in the same goal. The level of an effective participation coinsides to personal ability, behaviour and knowledge on the targeted activity. The three essences of an effective participation in the community corresponds to environment in which a person lives. Productive participation efficience has a tendance of continous growth from childhood to adult age as a result parental care is crucial for community development. A child would physically (ability), psychologically (behaviour) and mentaly (knowledge) be fit depending on the role of a parent in caring and rearing such a child.
Through the Department of Mothers’ Union, the Diocese of Rumonge works endeavour to ensure proper child care and rearing. The established project is ‘‘URUGANDA RWO KURERA KIVYEYI RUTEGUWE N’UMUHARI W’ABAKENYEZI MURI DIYOSEZE YA RUMONGE.’’ The focus is set from family level to entire community at large epecially in areas where it works. Particularly, in 26th to 30th June 2023, there are 15 championners who represent project’s beneficiaries were convened for training session. They came from several centers (parishes and sub-parishes) for been equiped on how to teach their respective communities on child care and rearing. The seminar was officially opened by the Diocen Secretary on behalf of the Bishop by the Word of God (……….) and prayer.
In an introductory part a facilitator described general contents covering subequent trainings. She stressed that, some children behave improperly and their life become a great shame to parents, Church and the nation. Some people confuse how to control children and decide to impart serious punishments against them. Through such decision, lots of child’s rights are infringed and hence, parents need to assess themselves to identify their wrong acts or omissions when dealing with their children. She explained that women as parents have to improve their understanding and adopt a change in order to positively realise their guiding, caring and rearing skills to children.
The trainees were exposed to several lessons including how to know themselves as to who are they ‘‘Ndi nde?’’ whereas each participant was told to understand her strengths and weaknesses. A woman or parent should be capable of teaching children, caring for her husband and a child, prayig for her family, sending and influencing children to school, to cook some food and work hard without choosing kind of work. The project involves not only women but also men as one male participant is a Catechist from Murara parish.
The participants have shared their personal characters in relation to how do other people pereive them, their abilities, weaknesses and what they had learnt from their environment since childhood.
Paticularly, they are capable of keeping livestocks, grazing cattles, conducting small scale business, sending children to school and hospitals, to pray for their families and teach children as well as on how to pray, to care for their husband and children and to provide them with some needs like some food, a faithful ability of acting as stepmother in caring for children who belong to the same husband, an ability of having dialogue with childen concerning love and unity among themselves. They have tolerance and patience ability in case of conflicts time against eitheir a husband or child on family matters. Sometimes they seek for advice from particular faithful people who are seem to have an applicable wisdom in their society. One participant (a woman) from Kibumba Parish has mentioned her ability of playing a guitor music as one of the gifts of serving God.
In the other handside, each participant has explained their inabilities to involve a difficulty of setting a house roof (ceiling-boards as well as ironsheets), making bricks, massonary activities, facilitating cattles in delivering a culf, milking from cattles, slughtering animals even for food and difficulty of fishing.
They have been taught several lessons some of them include who is a child? What are basic rights and responsibilities of a child? Advantages of a child in a family and the community at large.
Particularly, children have several rights including to be heard (right to expression) both within a family and community level, right to attend school, right to play, right to helath care, right to respect and protection.
Any child needs to be prepared to adopt environment and growth stage from childhood to adulthood. A parent should be keen in selecting communication topic and language use in relation to an appropriate child age and environment.
The session was officially closed by the President of Diocesan Mothers’ Union. She conforted them to be as faithful in teaching their communities as to serve Jesus Christ. She awarded all champions the Certificates of Participation in the seminar for five days. The champions were also provided with text books and other teaching equipments into their centers.
