Hope springs eternal for Bohol youth. Presently, they are being challenged by an unusual situation , where they are forced to stay at home due to the pandemic, and allowed to go out a few hours each week.
Gov. Art Yap, on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, met with the people of Laum Bohol executive committee via Zoom to form an organization tasked to identify the right approaches to the different concerns of the youth at this time of the pandemic.
Anytime soon, according to a report from the Capitol media, the governor will issue an executive order formalizing the creation of the Laum Bohol program with the following components: Duwa Bohol, the sports component; Abiba Bohol, the awareness platform; Dayag Bohol, the cultural, historical, music and arts component; and Amoma Bohol, the psychiatric assistance component.
The governor made the revelation about Laum Bohol in a radio interview over the program, Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, hosted by The Bohol Tribune managing editor Ardy Araneta-Batoy.
In addition, the governor wants the program to have a training and placement component for those youth who will opt to skip formal
schooling this year.
The Laum Bohol program, the governor said, is a multi-sectoral group to address issues that are affecting the youth of Bohol.
“(Due to) Covid (coronavirus disease) the youth suffers too much. (There are) increasing cases of depression. We’re still watching out the suicide rates nato karon,” the governor said in the interview with The Bohol Tribune’s Batoy.
The Bohol governor narrated that the number of suicide cases in Bohol right now is lesser compared to the number presented in 2019..
To address this predicament, the program will set up help lines where the youth can call counselors to seek help and counsel, if they are running out of hope, one way or another.
The idea, the governor says, is to launch the program by next month. October 10, to remember, is World Mental Health Day.
However, the governor does not want the program to focus on mental health issues alone. He said there is a need to tackle the issue on distance learning where face-to-face classes are not allowed as a measure to prevent the spread of the Covid virus.
THE HOPE FOR BOHOL
The governor is pulling the stops to help the youth sector, which is the future of the province.
The governor continued by saying that in this connection, there is a need to propel Bohol to greater heights in the future and taking care of them now, is like taking care of the future, the Capitol media report bares.
Yap wants to ensure the sound mind and proper well-being of the youth while they are staying at home and while they are allowed to go out only two (2) days a week.