Everlasting Love Ministry conducts training for trainers for members and partners in the community   |22 July 2023

“The need to have efficient, effective intervention and preventative programmes and strategies must become intentional in making a lasting impact on the drug and alcohol subculture while the monitoring and evaluation processes are in implementation.”

This was a quote by the Everlasting Love Ministry (ELM) at the end of a Training of Trainers it conducted for its members and those of the community on June 15–17, 2023.

The training’s aim was to empower the trainers who are volunteering or working within community groups on how to deal with and develop new and necessary strategies to address the many social ills in the community.

It was part of the organisation’s 2023 project to intervene at community level with the support of the National Grants Committee of the Ministry of Finance.

It was also the perfect event for members of the community with the same social issues to gather and discuss how to combat the issues of substance abuse, crime, and family breakdown in the country.

Present were the members of ELM, representatives of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, the district administrator, and the Seychelles National Youth Council.

Early intervention, prevention, educational awareness, basic counselling, networking, and reporting were some of the main focus points of the sessions conducted.

Starting with day one, the session was opened by group discussions where those present had the opportunity to bring their ideas, views, and opinions to the table and work together to think of solutions for the various case scenarios given.

When gathering all group insights together, Jude Fred, the facilitator of the training, stated that “there is a problem of a lack of intervention in the community and prevention programmes to ease the problems faced by our people”.

He proceeded to make it known that the moment someone speaks out about what they are going through, no matter their age, intervention comes in. Along with this, the basic intervention tools and guidelines were shared for the trainers to know their protocols for every case, be accountable if they react or do not react to an alarming case, maintain a relationship with someone who chooses to trust someone else with sharing their problem, and lastly, not overstep boundaries.

A book manual was given to every attendee that explores the different intervention and prevention methods.

The need to have efficient, effective intervention and preventative programmes and strategies must become intentional in making a lasting impact on the drug and alcohol subculture while the monitoring and evaluation processes are in implementation.

The second day of the training followed the same pattern as day one, going in depth into the issues, namely drugs and alcohol, affecting the communities, resulting in continuous group discussions and presentations for that day. The care-fronting and confronting approaches were discussed further in order to equip the trainers for the reaching out activity.

Points were raised that even when there are many activities being conducted at the district and community level, there are no follow-ups of the participants, no consistency in the projects, and they remain stagnant, which is why this training was conducted to start the implementation of new strategies for the next generation.

Subsequent to this, day three of the training was more practical, whereby the trainers were sent out on the streets to observe the behaviour and culture of the inhabitants of the Plaisance community.

This activity was to determine the ways in which the people in the said community function on a daily basis. Upon this observation, the groups came back with different cases of inhabitants, especially those living negative lifestyles.

Results showed that a large percentage of these people are depressed, live with constant anxiety, are sick, and are intoxicated. Intervention alternatives were shared, such as the development of a community-based recovery centre, the continuous giving of counselling, and skills development programmes going forward. An important point was raised by an inhabitant of the district. “There is a need for an empowerment centre to gather all these people, building and empowering them to reintegrate in society.”

Elsia Françoise, a representative from the Local Government, shared her views on the three-day sessions, stating that “it was good and very educational, especially the practical part.  It was an eye-opener as well. It helps to know how we can do better in terms of the implementation of effective and efficient programmes. It would be beneficial for the country in general if more key people received the same training,” she stated.

For her part, Shyrah Meme, an ELM member and attendee of the training, also shared positive remarks at the end of the session.

“The training was good and has well-educated me on how to approach the different situations by caring for these people rather than judging them. I have learned the different terms that these people using the various substances use. Also, learning how to identify their behaviours portrayed what they are going through,” she concluded.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the sessions.

Contributed