Child Month Reception at Cayman Islands Government House

This year’s Honouring Child Month reception was held on the patio of Government House, on Wednesday, 17 May 2017.

Hosted by her Excellency, the Governor Helen Kilpatrick, the evening event was held to thank Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) staff, their partner agencies and community stakeholders for planning and promoting activities to celebrate the observance throughout May.

Attendees included representatives from the Department of Youth, Feed Our Future, Meals on Wheels, the CAYS Foundation, RCIPS, Hedge Funds Care, and The Baptist Church, Pedro Castle who at the commencement of activities hosted the church service.

The Governor opened the reception with a brief extemporaneous speech. In it, she highlighted the importance of Child Month for raising awareness of child safeguarding issues in the Cayman Islands. She informed attendees of recent progress in advancing child welfare locally and commended the government for building on earlier successes.

DCFS Director, Felicia Robinson spoke of her department’s mandate to protect and promote the rights and well-being of children. She spoke of their particular needs outlining the duty of care society has in safeguarding young people. Mrs. Robinson referenced her department’s work in child advocacy, care and promotion. She informed attendees that teenagers are the focus of this year’s observence and spoke about the particular issues of relevance to this group.

In closing, the Chief Officer for the Ministry of Community Affairs, Youth and Sports, Dorine Whittaker thanked the Governor for hosting the reception.
She mentioned the wider impact of events such as Child Month’s opening church service and this year’s Teen Panel discussion at which children played central roles.

Thanking DCFS staff for their work organising the Child Month schedule, the Chief Officer commented on Child Month’s inclusion of families in its programming. In particular, Ms Whittaker commended the month’s ‘Tech-Free Fridays’ promotion which seeks to enhance family bonding.

(GIS) Captions and photos:

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Attendees listen to the Governor’s welcome speech in the grounds of Government House.

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L-R: DCFS Director Felicia Robinson, the Governor Helen Kilpatrick and Chief Officer for Community Affairs, Youth and Sports Dorine Whittaker at the 2017 Child Month Reception at Government House.

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Attendees at last Wednesday’s Honouring Child Month reception.

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DCFS Director Felicia Robinson reads her remarks to attendees.

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Attendees at the Child Month reception held at Government House.