An unprecedented initiative by the Pathfinders and Adventurers Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has, since early March, trained more than 10,000 leaders on the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), 1990 legislation. During quarantine, the the department, which coordinates the work of more than 12,000 Pathfinder clubs (10 to 15 years) and more than 7,800 Adventurer clubs (6 to 9 years) in eight South American countries, has made the course available in eight modules, totally online. ECA is a set of rules that deals with the full protection of the rights of the child.
The course addresses a growing worldwide concern regarding the care and prevention of abuse against this group. The idea was to provide, in an understandable language, knowledge about specific points of the legislation, so that club leadership in Brazil can act with an even greater sense of responsibility. The South American director of the Pathfinders and Adventurers Ministry, Udolcy Zukowski, explains that there are already plans to start a similar course soon in Chile, and later in other South American countries.
Educational tool
The course instructor, lawyer Augusto Rocha, points out that the ECA approach sought to help leaders understand that it is necessary to promote the healthy development of children and adolescents at work through the clubs. He sees online training as an educational tool that will allow participants to delve deeper into the daily lives of the young people with whom they work.
Roseane Santos Souza, a pharmacist in the city of Itajuípe, Bahia, and director of the Cactos Club, thought the course was a very good thing.
“I found the course very interesting, as there were things that I didn't even know myself,” she says. “It is important to train children and adolescents with moral and spiritual values, to support them in ways they need, and to teach them the best way to interact with others.”
In the evaluation of Sheila Belmont, from the Delta Pathfinder Club, in Belém, Pará, “understanding about ECA is extremely important for all of us who work with children and adolescents, because in some situations, without knowing it, we could be acting inappropriately, and it is important to understand how we should conduct ourselves.”
According to Rodrigo Dias Dorval, webmaster of the Club Management System (platform used for the course), at least 6,832 leaders have already completed the course and were issued their certificate online.
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site