Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian (File photo)
MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Friday encouraged all sectors to work together and get involved to improve the health and nutrition of children in line with the nation’s observance of the 31st National Children’s Month (NCM) celebration this November.
The NCM annual celebration marks the significance of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1989 by virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 10661.
This celebration aims to strengthen the call for public awareness and support in protecting and promoting the rights of children.
“We in the Department encourage all stakeholders to work together to improve the health condition of children by creating programs and implementing policies that will ensure their holistic development,” Gatchalian said in a statement
For this year, the NCM celebration has the theme: “Healthy, Nourished, Sheltered: Ensuring the Right to Life for All!”. The theme gives attention to the importance of children’s access to available and quality healthcare to uphold their rights to survival, development, protection and participation.
“With the proper guidance of parents and adults, children should also be given the appropriate platform where they can exercise and express their rights as individuals,” Gatchalian said.
He said it is important to ensure that “our children can live in an enabling, safe, and caring environment that allows them to realize their full potential and ability to contribute to nation-building.”
The NCM celebration is led by the DSWD and its attached agency -- the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), and the National Youth Commission (NYC).
Children’s Month activities
To start the month-long celebration, a kick-off ceremony will be held on Nov. 6 in Valenzuela City. It will feature a parade of children participants, messages of support from children, youth leaders, national agency partners, and child rights supporters and advocates.
On the same day, children or youth below 18 years of age will have a one-day free ride on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, online learning sessions for children and parents will be conducted by the CWC at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CWCgovph/ and shared by the DSWD Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dswdserves/.
On Nov. 28, the culminating activity for the NCM celebration will be held in Taguig City.
The DSWD is encouraging the public to promote the MAKABATA Helpline 1383, a hotline developed by the CWC to provide immediate response, monitoring, and feedback via calls, electronic mail, and different social media platforms about child rights and concerns. (PNA)
