The Child Rights Unit at Dastak conducted refresher training workshops for Punjab Prisons psychologists under its initiative, ‘Education for Children in Prisons (Punjab)’ for the Juvenile Justice program, running since 2019. 10 psychologists from Central and District Jails in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Bhakkar, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan were engaged as the ECIP Instructors for this initiative.

These refresher training workshops spanned over three days, from 22^nd– 24^th of June, 2021. Educational experts from the organization Roshan Rahain trained the ECIP instructors on the requisite communication and interpersonal skills required for effective lesson delivery and keeping the pupils engaged and actively learning crucial life skills pertaining to building empathy, maintaining mental health, hygiene care etc. which will serve them during their time in juvenile detention and after.

Day 1:
Focused on ice-breaking, assessing their responsibilities as psychologists and learning effective communication.

Day 2:
Focused on important teaching techniques such as the use of assertive behaviour, motivating the pupil and employing empathy and respect.

Day 3:
Focused on the use of the redesigned ECIP Curriculum for delivering the lessons by applying the techniques learned in previous sessions.

The Child Rights Unit at Dastak recently conducted training workshops for legal practitioners under its current project, titled: Juvenile Justice – Reformative Education and Monitoring of Prisons (Punjab). 24 advocates engaged in the criminal legal system, hailing from Punjab’s districts of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur were trained on the rights of the juveniles under international and domestic laws in Lahore, on the 26 th of February and 5 th of March, 2021.

The purpose of these training workshops was to equip fresh and ambitious lawyers with the requisite legal tools to defend children in prisons, and offer a refresher training to the more experienced ones. The challenges and implications of the juvenile justice system in Pakistan and specifically in Punjab were discussed at length through involvement of relevant departments such as police, prosecution, probation and prisons. Furthermore, these lawyers have also been engaged as part of Dastak’s ‘Children in Prisons Defenders Network’. This volunteer referral network shall be referred cases of juveniles who require legal assistance, as well as engage with the judicial system to undertake legal initiatives to improve the administration of justice for children in conflict with the law.

Dastak organized a session on financial literacy for women in collaboration with Roshan Rahain. The session was designed to give women the opportunity to learn about

1. The knowledge and understanding of, financial concepts, banking/financial products and services.
2. The skills and attitudes towards budgeting, savings, investment, debt management, financial negotiation, rights and obligations, etc.
3. Facilitate behavioral changes and practices to improve financial outcomes; including financial well being through increased savings.
4. Strengthen and improve money management knowledge, skills and behaviors
5. Inspire the women to set financial goals through saving, budgeting and planning for their future.

Total 10 women benefitted from this session.