More foster parents needed for St. Eustatius and Saba

New Director for the Cen­tres for Youth and Family in St. Eustatius and Saba Curvin George has made a plea for more foster par­ents to come forward. “We need to find a local solu­tion for children, who are in a difficult or in an unsafe situation on the islands. Organizing foster care is one of the solutions,” George says.

George, who will be working closely with local manager Paul Veira, is, therefore, asking members of the community who are interested to contact them. “I am very pleased to be involved with the valuable work carried out within our centres,” George told The Daily Herald. “Our role is to provide assistance to parents and children in situations where growing up is difficult or challenging”

The Centres for Youth and Family are committed to im­proving the safety and devel­opment of children up to 18 years old, George said.

“This is in line with the In­ternational Convention on the Rights of the Child. We provide care from multidis­ciplinary teams. Our care is based on a plan that is made in consultation with parents and that is consistent with the de­velopment, background and problems of the child.”

George explained that their teams believe children should grow up within their own fam­ily. “Parents are responsible for raising their own children and we know this can be chal­lenging We offer support with a focus on strengthening the power of the family itself. The work of our staff team and volunteers is very special and very rewarding.

Operated by Government Department Caribbean Neth­erlands RCN, the Centres for Youth and Family are based on Bonaire, Statia and Saba.

Whereas George will be based in Bonaire, “my visits to Statia and Saba will be regu­lar, supportive and very valu­able,” he stated.

The Daily Herald.