“For me, as a mother, and for my son, it has meant a profound and significant change. Attending the project’s workshops has not only provided us with practical tools, but has also transformed our relationship and way of looking at life,” is Kelly’s account of her participation and experience in the Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies project.
Kelly lives in the municipality of Andagoya, in the middle of San Juan Chocoano, a land, surrounded by rivers and nature and full of knowledge. She lives with her mother, other family members and her son, Juan, her main motivation, in a warm house surrounded by hundreds of colorful flowers.
Assertive communication, the key to strengthening mother-child bonds
For Kelly, of all the topics covered in the project, the one that most impacted her bond with her son was assertive communication, “because this is a very important factor, because we transmit to our children in a clear way the information about what is the right thing to do, even we ourselves evaluate ourselves because we are not exempt from making mistakes; so this has allowed me to give clear information to my son, guide him on the right path, and makes me be a more empathetic person with his emotions so he can regulate himself as well as me”.
For his part, Juan says that before participating in the project he was very reserved and afraid to speak in public, but now he communicates with greater confidence.
He says: “Of all the topics we have seen, the one I have liked the most is communication. Before, I was very afraid of expressing myself, but with the help of the project, I was able to open up my vocabulary more and talk to people more easily”.
Of the topics discussed during the meetings in the CFS, Juan assures that “other topics that we saw that seemed important to me are life skills, with the skills that one has to learn, how to analyze and how to do things; and also another topic we have seen is protection, which is the way I protect my body and how I protect that
of others, such as from physical and emotional abuse”.
One aspect that deeply motivated Juan was the opportunity to be a “community agent”. This experience allowed him to develop a sense of responsibility and leadership, helping to maintain order and supporting his peers, and has taught him the value of collaboration and community service. “Being a community agent goes beyond helping the teachers, it’s about making the life in our community safer and better,” Juan assures us.
Building strong family bonds
For Kelly, the project left a solid foundation in her community that has helped them build a safer and more positive environment for children and adolescents. The project was crucial in strengthening the foundation of the nuclear family and providing her children with a clear vision of their goals and value in society.
Kelly concludes: “The project contributes a lot to the protection of children, because it empowers them to have a clearer vision of what they want in life, to love themselves, to know how valuable they are, how important they are for their home and for society.”
Juan concludes with great emotion: “The project leaves me speechless, with so many messages they leave us; but undoubtedly the most important message is that it has allowed us to build a strong and safe bond with our mothers and fathers at home”.