The Citizens Engagement Platform (Ceps) has launched two programmes aimed at raising public awareness in caring for their health and to better manage their budget in this time of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
It was Ceps’ chief executive, Michel Pierre, who revealed the two programmes to the press yesterday morning at Ceps’ headquarters, Orion Mall, as part of Ceps’ contribution to social cohesion and community resilience against Covid-19.
The first progamme is to train volunteers to educate people in the community and in work places on Covid-19 responses with regard to the health measures being implemented by the health department.
Mr Pierre said the training, to be held in collaboration with the health department, will concentrate more on the awareness and prevention against Covid-19 as some people are not taking the health measures in place seriously, especially with regard to social distancing, wearing of mask and hand sanitising, among others.
Ceps is expected to mobilise and train over one hundred volunteers as health ambassadors for this Covid-19 health response awareness programme. They will be given a badge for identification as Ceps’ legal health ambassadors while working in the community and work places. A health ambassador is expected to approach and give advice to any member of the public who may be putting their health or that of others at risk.
The next outreach community programme targets personal and family budgets. This Financial Education programme, targeting mostly families, will see around thirty volunteers trained in budget management so as to be able to educate citizens on how to manage their budget in this time of the pandemic.
Mr Pierre stated that in this time of economic crisis where people are losing jobs, Ceps has seen it fit to educate the community on their expenses through better management of their budgets.
He said that people have to learn how to prioritise their budget so as to able to buy what is necessary.
Mr Pierre noted that the two programmes will provide support to government’s effort and response to the Covid-19 crisis while increasing vigilance and respond to citizen’s actions on the ground.
He said that Ceps is calling for a recruitment of volunteers to engage on the training programmes to help mitigate the effect of Covid-19 on the community. Ceps is expected to conduct this programme on a district by district basis.
The volunteers for both programmes will start training as from September 2020 and as the country is entering into election mode and not to be seen as political campaigning, Mr Pierre said that both programmes in the community will start after the October 24, 2020 elections.
Courtesy: Seychelles Nation
