The Tribune

ZONTA CLUB OF NEW PROVIDENCE

While people concentrate on the physical health of their children to ensure good growth, the mental health of children is just as important for their overall well-being.

With this in mind, a special seminar was held for parents, teachers, counsellors and other professionals who deal with children. The aim was to make them more aware of the signs of children with mental health issues, leaving them better prepared to respond and alleviate situations that could take a downward turn.

The Zonta Club of New Providence (ZCNP) utilised their 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women & Girls in this unique way this year Members wanted to cover a poignant topic that is often overlooked but is significant in ensuring more healthy Bahamian families. Stable relationships and loving families are some of the building blocks of a society where gender-based violence is no longer prevalent.

ZCNP hosted the webinar: “Mental Health & Your Child - What to Look for & How to Help”. The webinar featured two presenters with a wealth of experience in dealing with children and mental health issues.

The first speaker was Sgt 3220 Russell, School Resource Officer, RM Bailey. Ariman Russell is the Administrative Sergeant for the School Policing Unit.

Ariman started his policing career on the island of Andros where he spent a year and a half before transferring to the Grove Police Station, New Providence. He worked at the Grove Police Station as an investigator for 10 years and school policing for an accumulated amount of 4 years.

In July 2021, Sgt 3220 Russell was one of two officers who were selected to be internationally trained and certified by the National Association of School Resource Officers in Denver, Colorado. This training gave him the qualifications to work as a School Resource Officer anywhere in the world.

At present, he serves as the School Resource Officer for the RM Bailey High School and the Administrative Sergeant for the School Policing Unit. He is committed to changing the lives of our youths and extending his assistance wherever possible with the goal of building a better community.

Sgt Russell said that young people may turn to substance abuse to escape the stresses of their lives. It is important to decrease the stressors they face. A stable home life, supportive school and church family help to cover the child and uplift them emotionally. Vaping and marijuana use, he said, remains prevalent in the schools. Because of the nicotine in the vape, he added, children may retaliate violently. They must be fully engaged in positive activities to avoid these pitfalls.

Also addressing the ZCNP webinar was Kavita Garikaparthi, a trained counsellor. She is originally from India but she has made the Bahamas her home since 1999. She is the wife of a surgeon and a mother of two children.

She is a qualified counselor with a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling. SHe has been working in that capacity since 2007 as an active volunteer of the Crisis Centre and also was the counselor/group facilitator with Dr. David Allen’s Outreach program “People Helping People” since 2014 in the Prison. Unfortunately, the latter program has come to a halt since the onset of the pandemic. She also works privately with the University of West Indies as a counselor for the medical students.

She found that all too often, parents forget that their children deserve respect , too. Parents will talk ‘at’ instead of ‘to’ their children. Because of this, they never really understand or appreciate how their children feel or what they are thinking. Good communication, she advised, is a key to establishing new levels of respect in the family and confidence for the child.

The ZCNP webinar: “Mental Health & Your Child - What to Look for & How to Help” was held on Sunday, November 26, 2023. The 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women & Girls and the Orange the World campaign are hosted in the Bahamas by the Zonta Club of New Providence every year. It begins on November 25 - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women & Girls, and ends on December 10, United Nations Human Rights Day.