In Northam, a country town in Western Australia, on Saturday the 10^th and 25^th May 2008, 11 local residents met to take the PEP (Parenting Education Program) course. The group consisted of parents and grandparents, including both men and women. The course was held at St John’s church.
The Northam MU Branch had undertaken the recruitment and organising beforehand. Over the 2 days, the members worked tirelessly to support the program with some of the equipment, all meals and provide a crèche for the children of the participants. This generosity allowed the participants to relax and benefit most from the sessions. 

Feedback from participants:

“I really did enjoy the course.  I have learned so much to help me with my child and my new family day care business.”

“For a 2-day course that could only provide a limited overview, I found it very informative and thought provoking.”

“Excellent, heaps of tools taken”

“All day course – Great not a boring moment to be had”

The Northam MU branch who supported the program were asked for their feedback. Below is the feedback received:

“We all felt it was great to be able to do something for the young families in the community and derived a lot of satisfaction from all cooperating to make it successful.

There are only 8 members in our branch and we all helped either in the kitchen or looking after 10 young children including 15 month old twins.  The Parish was most supportive when it came to using any of the church equipment and were willing to help with the organising.

We all heard very positive comments from the participants and that is very rewarding.”

As the facilitator I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The support and organisation the Northam MU Branch committed to the event was fantastic. The participants were wonderful people all striving to increase their knowledge and understanding of parenting. It was very interesting having Grandparents present. They added an interesting perspective contributing to the conversation some very valuable insight. 

The participants are not the only people to benefit from PEP. The ongoing friendships, connections and conversations are invaluable to any community. PEP can break down barriers and build community.  If you are thinking of hosting a program I could highly recommend it.

Jill Bowman