The Village's Parents Support Group
Being a parent is both a huge and difficult responsibility. Proper parenting determines a child's future. A child who lives in a loving family will grow and develop into a more complete person. However, proper parenting that is also full of love is not an easy thing to implement. Today's parents often experience severe challenges in parenting, so they often apply parenting that has a negative impact on children. Therefore, parents also need a good support system so that all the difficulties faced can be shared with the right people. Parents can also get solutions so that they can provide the best care for their children.
One of WVI's assisted villages in South Bengkulu realized the importance of support groups for parents to be able to take care of their children well. The village took the initiative to form a Family Love Group. Commonly called KCK, it is a safe place for mothers to share the challenges they face in parenting. KCK is also a place for mothers to improve their knowledge about parenting that is relevant to child development.
"The issue of parenting is very important because we directly practice the knowledge with our own children," said Trinopta, the group facilitator in the village. The mother of three also shared, "Every meeting we will take turns telling stories about the theme we have agreed upon at the beginning. Members one by one will tell their stories freely and even build an emotional atmosphere in our meetings. And this is not just a one-time thing,".
Exchanging experiences and insights about parenting turned out to be very beneficial for the mothers in the village. The KCK meetings became so routine that the village formed a second KCK group in the village. "In the group, we encourage and strengthen each other regarding various parenting issues. We feel that this is not a big challenge because we embrace each other and work together. We can face this problem well without committing violence against children and without reducing children's rights at all because we can share with each other," said Trinopta.
The benefits felt by the mothers who participated in KCK were also shared with groups in other villages. Trinopta, the facilitator, had the opportunity to share good practices in her village. "Sharing experiences is enjoyable. This is a new thing for me. I used to feel that I was just an ordinary person and maybe my words wouldn't get much attention from others. I feel there is a good change in me thanks to WVI," she said. As a group facilitator, Trinopta has also received capacity building on parenting facilitated by WVI. "For me, there is a special satisfaction when we can share knowledge and experience with others. I feel like a useful human being. As the wise man said, the best human being is a human being who is useful to others," she concluded.
KCK in the village where Trinopta lives also took the initiative to socialize bullying prevention to elementary school students. They did this considering the rampant cases of bullying committed or experienced by children while at school. The socialization carried out was also able to produce an agreement regarding the reporting of bullying cases at school. The students have understood who can report and how to report if they see or experience bullying.
"I hope that children in the assisted villages in particular and children in South Bengkulu in general can grow and develop according to their age, becoming a generation that is knowledgeable, civilized, moral and ethical. We as parents will always guide our children so that they can have this good behavior," said Trinopta.
Writer: Dora Kasih (Field Facilitator for WVI operational office in South Bengkulu)
Editor: Mariana Kurniawati (Communication Executive)
