Institutions will provide better attention to Salvadoran Children and Youth
SAN SALVADOR—The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Canadian Embassy, Whole Child International (WCI) and the University of El Salvador held a graduation ceremony of the diploma course “Protection and Quality of Care for Children and Youth” with more than 500 participants from 80 entities, mostly from the public sector, working directly on issues related to children, youth, and their families in El Salvador.
The graduation was chaired by the U.S. Ambassador in El Salvador, William Duncan; the Canadian Ambassador, Daniel Ahmad; WCI Founder and Executive Director, Karen Spencer; the Dean of Sciences and Humanities at UES, Óscar Wuilman Herrera, and the representative of the Office of the First Lady of the Republic, Alexandra Posada.
The diploma course began in November 2021 and consisted of six modules on topics ranging from child development, comprehensive protection, case management and follow-up, to the importance of professional development for those who work directly and indirectly in the care of the first infancy, childhood, adolescence, and their families.
The training focused on best care practices in day care centers, foster care centers, and other care settings. Decision makers and management and technical personnel are expected to apply this knowledge in the management, monitoring and evaluation of programs under the recent “Growing Together Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Early Childhood, Childhood and Adolescence.”
The modular process was developed in conjunction with the University of El Salvador’s Graduate School of the Faculty of Sciences and Humanities, through the Moodle virtual platform. The Gender module was supported by the Government of Canada.
“We believe without a doubt that the training of specialized personnel in the field of initial education, and this diploma course, are strategic and highly relevant,” said Óscar Herrera, dean of Sciences and Humanities at the UES.
Since 2018, the United States contribution, through USAID, has reached $4.9 million, with a WCI counterpart of $2.5 million for a total investment of $7.4 million. This project implements different initiatives to strengthen Salvadoran institutions to provide better care, protection, and development services to vulnerable children and families.
