by Aibie Juanitas, Program Officer
Marinhel Cha, one of Educo Philippines’ child representatives, is now an official part of the roster of child and young facilitators who champion engaging in meaningful and child-friendly participation and facilitation after she and other child representatives underwent training and workshops with the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), UNICEF Philippines, and Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation.
Marinhel participated in the Training of Child Rights Advocates and Facilitators Training last May 16-19, 2024, for the basic training and last June 16-19, 2024, for the advanced training, which aims to capacitate and increase the knowledge and skills of young facilitators in terms of implementing child-friendly and child-sensitive facilitation.
She expressed that, “isang malaking karangalan at kasiyahan na maging parte sa basic at advance na Child Rights Advocates and Facilitators Training na sinagawa ng Council for the Welfare and Children.”
(It is my honor to be a part of the basic and advanced Child rights Advocates and Facilitators Training conducted by the Council for the Welfare and Children)
As one of the pools of champions on child-friendly facilitation, Cha was selected as one of the facilitators during the conduct of the Philippine National Children’s Conference (PNCC), wherein she spearheaded workshops on the identification of issues, prioritizing and setting of recommendations on the issues identified by the child representatives.
“Naging kasama [ako] sa mga pangkat ng mga bata na facilitators para sa Philippine National Children’s Conference kung saan nagkaroon ako ng opurtunidad na ipamalas ang aking kakayahan sa pagpapadaloy ng isang programa,” the said child representative articulated during the interview.
(I was chosen to be a part of a group of children facilitators for the Philippine National Children’s Conference, wherein I got the opportunity to showcase my abilities in facilitating a program)
She further expressed that, “ang pinakamahalagang natutunan ko ay ang kahalagan ng pagsasagawa ng mga ganitong event na hindi lamang nakikilahok ang mga bata kundi nagkakaroon kami ng pagkakataon na mamuno sa mga national na event.”
(I learned the importance of conducting events like this to ensure that children aren’t just participating but more importantly, we are given the chance to lead events at the national level)
This engagement of Educo Philippines’ child representative is one of the milestones of the organization’s child participation program, which capitalizes on the evolving capacities of children.
