Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kampala (Agenzia Fides) - "Due to the challenges that our religious have had to face in the past, we are looking for a safe and formal way to carry out the apostolate, especially in the field of pastoral care for children, without compromising the individual charisms of children" , said Sister Stella Maris Kamanzi OLGC, coordinator of the national program of Catholic Care for Children - Uganda (CCCU), on the occasion of the formation seminar in progress since the beginning of February 2021. In fact, in the past, the sisters involved have had to face challenges which also reported painful legal consequences.
"The general objective of the consecrated persons involved in the pastoral care for the protection of minors is to witness good practices and the promotion of children's abilities", says Sister Stella in the note sent to Agenzia Fides. "There have been informal reports and cases of child abuse mainly due to ignorance. We are rationalizing everything that has to do with the protection of children and we will carry out parallel programs to cover those that were left pending due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year".
To avoid errors, the program also underlines the need to integrate procedures into international, regional and national legal frameworks. So far, the topics covered by the CCCU include the introduction to child protection, legal and political frameworks, international, regional and national protection systems, and prevention and response strategies.
The CCCU program has been running since 2017 and, in addition to the central office, it has other staff members in the eastern and northern parts of the country who are involved in family tracing and field assessments. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 27/3/2021)
