First Lady Raquel Arbaje and Besaida Manola Santana, inaugurated the CAIPI La Merced, under the co-management model, to benefit 214 children aged 0 to 5 years old, as part of the plan to expand the coverage of quality comprehensive services for early childhood, developed by the Government of President Luis Abinader, through the National Institute for Comprehensive Care for Early Childhood (INAIPI).
“This CAIPI is another example that joining wills translates into actions. We maintain our social commitment to serve and work to improve the quality of life of Dominican families,” said Arbaje.
Meanwhile, the executive director of INAIPI, Manola Santana, said that the institution will continue to work with love, to ensure excellent services and provide the opportunity for parents of children to join the labor market or continue their studies, with the peace of mind that their children will be well cared for and protected.
Father Tomás García, executive vice-president of the La Merced Foundation, thanked the First Lady Raquel Arbaje and Mrs. Manola Santana for the support given to the non-profit organization to work in favor of early childhood, through the Cabinet of Childhood and Adolescence and INAIPI.
Mrs. Yomaira Benitez Agüero, in thanking the families, highlighted the commitment made by President Luis Abinader to prioritize early childhood and family care.
At the opening ceremony were the businessmen Rafael (Tato) Bisonó, president of Constructora Bisonó; Carmencita de Bisonó, Maricarmen Ramos, vice president of Technology and Services at Grupo Ramos; Mariajose Turull de Roig, volunteer of the La Merced Foundation; Lourdes Bisonó and Brandon Paniagua Bisonó, of Constructora Bisonó.
Also present were Mónica Despradel, president of Fundación Nido para Ángeles; Mónica Arbaje, sister of First Lady Raquel Arbaje; Erick Cornielle, councilor of Santo Domingo Oeste and Nancy Handal de Mejía, general director of the Office of the First Lady.
Representing INAIPI were Yanett Rodríguez, deputy director of Institutional Management; Juan Tomás Méndez, Casimiro Toledo, César Mercedes, as well as Quilma Tió, in charge of CAIPI centers and Mary Patricia Cordero, in charge of the Co-management Division, among other representatives of the foundation, community leaders and special guests.
About CAIPI
This is the first mixed co-management CAIPI to be put into service at the national level, since it offers both face-to-face care (CAIPI) and home visits (CAFI).
In this sense, 64 children aged 3 to 5 years will receive care in rooms, that is to say, under the CAIPI model. Meanwhile, 150 infants from 15 days old to 3 years old will receive home care services (CAFI model).
The center, which is located in Batey Bienvenido, in West Santo Domingo, offers care under the INAIPI model and is managed by the La Merced Foundation, a non-profit organization belonging to the Dominican Catholic Church, which works to provide a more dignified life for children and adolescents, freeing them from child labor and guaranteeing their fundamental rights.
The INAIPI Model includes the components of early stimulation and initial education; health and nutrition; attention to special educational needs and disability; protection against violence; birth registration; as well as accompaniment to families and communities.
Interventions also include support and care in homes, strengthening of good parenting practices, support for godparents with children from 0 to 1 year of age and high-risk pregnant women, as well as network articulation to guarantee public services.
Source: presidencia.gov.do
