-Safe-Home Kids React to Gender Ministry Donations
By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
As part of addressing the challenges faced by survivors of sexual gender-based violence, as well as challenges of children living in Safe-Home across the country, the Ministry of Gender with support from UNICEF on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, initiated the donation of assaulted goods and household materials to one-stop health facilities and Safe-Homes Across Montserrado.
Receiving the donations which are intended to help bring smiles to the faces of children living Safe-Home across the country, the president of Kids described the donation as a “Soul saver” that comes at their point of need for basic life commodities. “You saved our soul; we have gone out of food and other basic life-saving commodities.
we needed this to keep us going” a beneficiary said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Gender, Atty. Laura Golakeh intimated that donation is part of the ministry’s effort to address the challenges those children and women in a one-stop shop and Safe-Home.
“This is to address findings from the assessment of the harsh reality faced as the result of sexual gender-based violence.” The minister added that the ministry is not only concerned about donations but is currently mapping the needs of Safe-Home and One-stop-shop to help address their challenges.
“We are working with our partners to collate data from these centers across the country, and once we get that information we will be able to address their challenges. She continued by revealing that the ministry is processing an information management system IMS that will help the ministry to adequately attain the needed information. She that the data will notify the government on how to address issues of social gender-based violence as they come.
In furtherance, Minister Golakeh added that the ministry is in the process of implementing the domestic violence funds which is part of the domestic violence law as a penalty for perpetrators of domestic violence. “It’s not all about donation, the ministry is in the process of implementing the domestic violence funds which is a part of the domestic violence act as a fine for those who perpetrate violence against women and girls.
If a perpetrator is arrested and proven that said person committed any act of violence, he will be made to pay a certain amount of money to that fund to cater to the victim, because donors will not continue to support the domestic violence funds.”
Meanwhile, the administrator of one of the Safe Homes lauded the ministry for its thoughtfulness in making donations to safe homes. She added that the challenges of those homes across the country in compelling and demands assistance at all times to address them.
She therefore called on the national government through the Ministry of Gender to further buttress the efforts of caterers in the various facilities. The administrator who is deemed to be anomalous stated that those working at facilities across the country are volunteering, therefore, the need for subsidies to enhance their efforts is necessary.
