“Being part of the Child Safeguarding (CSG) training has taught me that hitting my children when they were young was wrong and was a form of abuse that I wasn’t aware of”

62-year-old Seforesa Baleilau could not hold back her tears during the Child Safeguarding training as she openly shared her journey of raising five children – which she said was a challenge and involved a lot of physical punishment as a form of discipline.

She admitted that there were times when she disciplined her children using a belt or a wooden spoon.

“This training is really great. It touched my heart. Because before I didn’t know how to approach my children when they did something wrong. I always yelled and did not know how to control my anger towards them.”

The first-time participant also highlighted that the CSG training is timely as she now has 12 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren – a new set of generations she hopes to start a new light with in terms of positive parenting and discipline.

“I used to hit my children because to me that was a form of expressing my love for them and it also showed that I cared for their future. I used to think if I didn’t discipline them enough, they would either end up in jail or the hospital” she explained.

Child negligence is another issue that the 62-year-old raised during the session pointing out there were incidents in the community where parents would leave their children unsupervised or in the care of others.

“Many children here are from broken families and it hurts me seeing them not having their parents around especially at a time when they need guidance and support. They grow up and later learn that their parents abandoned them.”

The Child Safeguarding training she says is a much-needed session not only for residents of Nabua but for every community in Fiji.

“Today I attend the program and I know what I should have done with my children but now that I have grandchildren – I am slowly using this new parenting method to help them become feel safe and that they can always come and talk to me without being scared,” she said.

The CSG training is part of the Collective Action to End Violence Against Children project – which works in 24 communities across the Central division.

The CAEVAC project is being implemented by Save the Children Fiji and funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and supported by Save the Children New Zealand.