Child Month Activities Begin Next Week

BARBADOS:  Activities to mark the Child Care Board’s annual celebration of Child Month will begin next week under the theme: Celebrating Children: The Gems of Our Nation.
Beginning on Sunday, May 1, daily devotions will be broadcast on both radio and television.
From Tuesday, May 3, to Friday, May 6, Government’s day nurseries located in Zone 1 – the Delores ‘Ma’ Worrell, London Bourne and Joan Arundell Day Nurseries – will host their Open Day. Family members and friends are invited to visit between 10:00 a.m. and noon, and from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
On Tuesday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a lecture and panel discussion led by Professor Christine Barrow, entitled: Celebrating our Barbadian Families. The lecture, organised by the Anglican Diocese, will be held in Lecture Theatre 1, The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, St. Michael.
On Friday, May 6, Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development, Steven Blackett, will officially launch the month of activities at an Opening Gala. It will be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, under the patronage of the Governor-General, Sir Elliott Belgrave and Lady Belgrave.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, along with several Ministers of Government and other dignitaries, are expected to be in attendance, and will be treated to performances by some of the island’s primary and secondary students.
The following week, from Tuesday, May 10, to Friday, May 13, the Government Day Nurseries in Zone 2, those being the Farm, Grazettes, Nightingale and Madame Ifill day nurseries, will host their Open Day, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.
The Child Care Board will hold its Staff Club Variety Concert on Saturday, May 14, at the Barbados Workers’ Union, Solidarity House, Harmony Hall, St. Michael, from 7:00 p.m.
Parents whose charges attend Government Day Nurseries in Zone 3 – the Haynesville, Eden Lodge, Bagatelle and John Beckles day nurseries – will have their turn to visit when open days are held from Tuesday, May 17, to Friday, May 20, also from 10:00 a.m. to noon, and from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
In addition, from Friday, May 20, to Tuesday, May 24, the Renew, Reuse, Recycle exhibition will begin at the Grand Salle, Central Bank, Church Village, St. Michael. It will run daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the public can view recycled items made by the students of the Government day nurseries.
On Saturday, May 21, persons are also invited to attend a seminar promoting positive parenting entitled: Moving beyond food, clothes and shelter. It will be held in collaboration with the My Child and I Charity, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The following week, from Monday, May 23, to Friday, May 27, the Government Day Nurseries located in Zone 4 – the Geoffrey Morris, Colleton, Sayes Court and Marion Hall day nurseries – will host their Open Day, between 10:00 a.m. and noon and from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Also, on Friday, May 27, there will be a T20 Cricket Match between the Child Care Board and Carib Supply at the Dover Playing Field, Christ Church, from 7:00 p.m. The next day, Saturday, May 28, the Child Care Board, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Barbados, will host a picnic at Browne’s Beach from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The same day, from noon to 7:00 p.m., the fair and fun day for private day care centres will be held at the Banks Grounds, Wildey, St. Michael. The month of activities will come to a close on Tuesday, May 31, with a Child Abuse Management Training Workshop, at the Savannah Hotel, Hastings, Christ Church, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
deirdre.gittens@barbados.gov.bb