Okanagan organizations gather together to celebrate National Child Day

The Okanagan Early Years partnership program hosted its first event for National Child Day Tuesday, offering parents and their children a fun way to connect with much needed resources.

“It’s a United Nations designated day and the Canadian government has adopted it as a national day to recognize children and their rights,” Melissa Hunt, the executive director with childhood connections, said.

The event gave parents a chance to learn about 15 agencies that gathered under one roof. Parents were able to help their kids engage in activities, while they gathered resources and even collect parenting tips.

Hunt said during the past two years, COVID-19 negatively affected families, especially low-income and those who are new to the area.

According to Hunt the vulnerability rate in West Kelowna is 36 per cent as of 2019 and it was 16 per cent in 2016. She says those numbers are alarming and so this is why the event was created.

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This partnership, which includes Indigenous programming and resources, is committed to improving early childhood development outcomes for kids in every Central Okanagan community.

“It’s just really important that Aboriginal children get an opportunity to feel pride in their traditions and their cultural practices and learning their language,” Səxʷkn̓xitəlx k̓l̓ c̓əc̓mála coordinator Kim Kosik said.

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National Child Day is Nov.  20. However, Tuesday’s events, which were hosted at the Multi-Sport Centre in West Kelowna, kicked off a month-long celebration.

There are several other events that will be taking place throughout the month. For a list of those events you can click here.