DSWD-7 Kicks Off National Children’s Month Celebration

Ceremonial Turn-Over: (From Left to Right) Grace Yana (SWO IV and Children’s Sector Focal of DSWD-7), Atty. Rene K. Burdeos (DILG-7 Regional Director) and Dr. Luz Jandayan (Chief of Education Support Services Division of DepEd-7).

Some 400 participants coming from various national government agencies, local government units and non-government organizations attended the opening salvo of the National Children’s Month celebration on November 5, 2016.

It was participated in by members of the Regional Council for the Welfare of Children (RCWC) headed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7).

The kick-off activity started with an awareness walk from Fuente Osmena Circle going to Plaza Independencia in Cebu City where a brief program was held.

During the program, RCWC, represented by its Vice Chairperson, Director Rene K. Burdeos of DILG-7 handed the donated pencils to DepEd-7 representative Dr. Luz Jandayan in a ceremonial turn-over.

“We would like to express our gratitude to DSWD for initiating this one million lapis campaign and surely this will benefit the underprivileged students in the region,” said Dr. Luz Jandayan, Chief of Education Support Services Division of DepEd-7.

The DSWD-7 collected 143,307 pencils from July to October and DepEd-7 will now determine the elementary schools from 4th to 6th class municipalities in the region for the pencils distribution.

Other activities lined-up for the month-long celebration are Kapihan sa PIA on November 9, technical session on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) cum orientation on the Early Years Act on November 22-25 to be participated in by City and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers (C/MSWDO), Day Care Workers and ECCD Focal in Cebu Province and the Regional Children’s Contest on November 29.

This year’s celebration carries the theme “Isulong: Kalidad na Edukasyon Para sa Lahat ng Bata! responding to Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) No. 4, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities to all.

Education plays an important role in helping children develop, reach their potentials, be able to engage meaningfully and build resilience. This means that ensuring education of a child promotes child protection by empowering them to build resiliency.