Sozavo promises to support Stivoki

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing (Sozavo) has promised to support the Foundation for Children (Stivoki). The board of the foundation on Monday met with representatives of the ministry. Murwin Dubois, chairman of the board at Stivoki, told Times of Suriname that the foundation made its position clear. “Both parties agreed to work together. We are on the right track,” said Dubois. It is still unclear, however, why the children’s home for children who have been neglected or sexually abused was closed. Dubois explained that the board is formulating a policy plan and that the ministry will find out what the problem is. When the policy plan is finished, both parties will meet again. The ministry recently announced that it was unaware of the fact that the children’s home had been closed and that it was shocked by the decision of the board. The chairman of the board pointed out that it turned out that there was most likely a miscommunication or that there was insufficient communication. Both parties will try to find out what went wrong. Dubois made it clear that the shelter for children will continue to exist. The board accepted the promises because it believes in dialogue. It is not clear when the foundation will receive the overdue subsidies and when the workers will receive their salaries. The workers have not received any wages since August.