CIRCDev traines 15 teenage mothers at Gyankobaaa
rural community in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti Region on
beads making.
The project dubbed “Hope For Rural Teenage
Mothers” with funding from The Pollination Project in the United States
of America is designed to equip teenage mothers in rural communities of
the Atwima Nwabiagya with economically viable and marketable skills to
improve their lives.
The first phase of the Training program started on Tuesday, the 5th of February, 2019 and ended on the 9th of April, 2019.
The Executive Director of (CIRCDev) Francis Sarkodie
stated that the training program was aimed at providing these 15
teenage mothers with beads making skills and support them with start-up
capital to start their business.
“Teenage mothers decide what skills they wish to acquire to help their lives and that of their children” he indicated.
Teenage
pregnancy has become a canker in the rural communities of Ghana which
the Gyankobaa rural community in the Atwima Nwabiagya Municipality of the
Ashanti Region is no exception.
According to report, 6 out of 10
teenagers in
the rural communities become pregnant before completing
their basic education.Victims of teenage pregnancy have limited economic
opportunity as result of their inability to attain higher education and
loses their social status and dignity.
“It is therefore
imperative to reintegrate victims of teenage pregnancy back into the
society through education and skills training to provide them with
economic opportunity to give dignity” Mr. Francis Sarkodie stated.
He
advised young girls to plan their lives well and get a job or trade to
enable them to fend for themselves before planning to have a baby in
order to take good care for the child.
He also urged parents to stop the blame game when their child got pregnant and focus on the support for the child to have a better future for herself and the baby.
The
Traditional Ruler of Gyankobaa, Bofour AtwimakwaaBoakye-Darkwa II,
expressed his gratitude to CIRCDev for such a life-changing project.
He
therefore urged the beneficiaries to utilize the support given to them
by the organization and its sponsors to improve their lives and that of
their families. He admonished the beneficiaries to avoid laziness in
doing their business and also cautioned them on unnecessary spending
which will affect the growth of their start-up capital.
To
promote the campaign against teenage pregnancy in the rural communities
and Ghana at large, Bofour supported the beneficiaries with GHc 500 to
help them start their business.
Meanwhile, the assembly member of
the Gyankobaa/Wioso electoral area, Hon. Charles Henry Opoku,
commended CIRCDev and the “The Pollination Project” for their support in
shaping the lives of 15 teenage mothers in Gyankobaa. He also advised
the beneficiaries to be hardworking in order to help the organization
achieve its mission as far as the project is concerned.