Over 313 marginalized girls from 11 communities in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa district have been selected to benefit from the Strategic Approach to Girls Education (STAGE) Project.
The project aims at providing the girls with the needed numeracy, literacy skills and Accelerated Learning Programmes (ALP) for them to be able to read and write as they learn vocational skills to lift them out of poverty.
It is being implemented by the Central Regional Office of the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) in partnership with the World Education Incorporation (WEI) and funded by the UKAID.
Already more than 670 girls from 24 communities in the Gomoa West District of the Central Region had benefitted.
The Komenda-Edina-Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) was the first to benefit from the project, providing about 500 young girls in the district the opportunity to make their lives meaningful.
Mr Mohamed Baidoo, Acting Central Regional Manager of GRCS, said the project was aimed at tackling poverty by empowering young girls in deprived communities.
He said they were working with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and others to ensure that the participants learned in a safe environment.
Mr Baidoo said the learning materials were ready and the master craftsmen retrained to impact knowledge and skills to the learners. He urged the beneficiaries to show strong commitment to complete the full course because it was the pathway to transforming their lives.
“This is a free six months training that would add value to their lives, they should never take it for granted because they are not paying for it and must take full advantage and make themselves proud eventually.”
On teenage pregnancy, he said it had become a canker in the district saying, “it is sad, as we speak, some of these girls are pregnant, others have toddlers they are caring for while some others may get pregnant on the way”.
He said while pregnancy was not itself bad, if the timing was wrong it carried the potential of setting back the lives of young mothers delaying their progress and growth.
He admonished parents to own the project by giving the girls their unflinching support to motivate them to complete their training.
“Parents must be their Weds backbone, they should be ready to support especially with advice and direct their wards on the right way to go just to see their wards excel as they acquire new skills to impact generations” he added.
