Roseau, Dominica – June 19, 2009…….The Labour Party Government of Prime Minister, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit will on Monday, June 22nd 2009 launch the ‘Yes We Care’ Programme– an initiative aimed at assisting families in the provision of personal home care to needy housebound elderly people in Dominica.
The much anticipated event is carded for the State House on Victoria Street in Roseau and will be carried live by DBS Radio and Kairi FM from 10a.m.
Addresses will come from Prime Minister, Hon, Roosevelt Skerrit and Minister for Community Development, Culture, Gender Affairs and Information, Hon. Loreen Bannis-Roberts.
The ‘Yes We Care’ Programme, the brainchild of Prime Minister, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, will be implemented through the Ministry of Community Development, Culture, Gender Affairs and Information and the Ministry of Health and Environment, with oversight to be provided by the Cabinet appointed National Advisory Committee.
Under the Programme, it is anticipated that in the first year, approximately three hundred (300) needy housebound elderly individuals will receive food supplies and direct home care.
A number of persons will be employed as a result of the Programme. The administrative staff of the programme will include a Coordinator, an Administrative Assistant and seven (7) Health District Supervisors. Personal Care and attention will be provided by thirty (30) Caregivers stationed in communities across the country.
The Yes We Care Programme has been designed through an ongoing consultative and participatory method to assist families in the provision of personal home care.
On Monday, August 25, 2008, the Government convened a one-day consultation aimed at formulating a comprehensive programme on the needs of the elderly with the assistance of stakeholder organisations and interested parties. Participants included officials from the Ministry of Health, the Welfare Division, the Dominica Council on Ageing, Ministry of Finance, NGOs/Civic Organisations, Caregivers and Local Authorities.
The Yes We Care Programme is in keeping with a Government approved National Policy on older persons which “seeks to provide older persons protection and care, physically and mentally, through appropriate support services while preserving their human dignity and providing them with the circumstances to live worthwhile lives”.
The Programme is also in sync with the Government’s strategy for social protection and poverty reduction as set out in its Growth and Social Protection Strategy, approved by Cabinet in 2006 and revised in 2008.
The Government of Libya has contributed $1 million towards the programme.
