CAMFED organises training programme for young girls

A five-dayinduction and transition training for young female school leavers in the Central Region under the sponsorship of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) opened last Monday at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).

The event which is on the theme: ‘Shaping the future of young women’ has brought together about 662 young female students who recently completed Senior High School (SHS) and are being prepared to be welcomed into the fold of the CAMFED Alumni (CAMA) Network.

The CAMA Network is made up of young women who have received support from CAMFED and are willing t invest the benefit of their education in their communities.

Operating in the Northern, Central, Upper East and Upper West regions, the network plans to induct a total of 1,500 school leavers into the scheme this year.

In the Central Region, CAMFED operates in five districts namely, Abura Asebu Kwamankese, Mfantseman, Ekumfi, Gomoa West and Agona East.

According to the organisers, the school leavers would be trained in topics such as sexual and  reproductive health, financial education, core business skills, career pathway and good citizenship.

Providing guidance

The induction ceremony is aimed at providing guidance to the young women in career advancement and life choices to adequately prepare them to enter another phase of life, as well as provide a unique opportunity for all those who have benefitted from the CAMFED project to network among themselves.

A unique feature of the programme is the provision of transition training to the beneficiary girls with funding from the MasterCard Foundation, Canada. It is dubbed, ‘Enable young women to go through transition from school to entrepreneurship, further study and transformative leadership.’

It is intended to equip young women who graduate from SHS to make informed decisions related to their growth and development, and to empower them to play active roles in local and national development.

Addressing the opening ceremony, the Regional Executive Director of CAMFED, West Africa, Madam Dolores Dickson, told the beneficiaries to take advantage of the programme to be well equipped for the next level of their lives.

Successful future

Madam Dickson said they were fortunate to be part of the programme as it would help in grooming them towards a successful future.

She further advised them against engaging in irresponsible acts that could undermine their efforts towards furthering their education to the tertiary level.

The Guest Speaker, Obaahemaa Nana Ekua Apeatsewah II, who is also the Queenmother of Abura Wiomua, advised the young girls to be mindful of the emotional changes that they might encounter as adolescents, cautioning them to be wary of men who could lure them into amorous relationships that could lead to pre-marital sex, since such a move would affect their aim to focus on their aspirations towards a dignified future.

According to her, it was important for the girls to avoid making mistakes as they grew up since such mistakes could ruin their lives, and asked them to learn from the good experience of mentors in the society in order to achieve their goals and objectives.

The Central Regional Girl Child Education Officer at the Ghana Education Service (GES), Madam Nora Afful, implored them to make conscious efforts to achieve a secured future, adding that: ‘A well-secured future will enable you to confront challenges that you may encounter in life.’

In an interview, the Programmes Manager Incharge of Further Education, CAMFED, Mrs Sally Ofori- Yeboah, told the media that her outfit, with support from its funding partner, provided the necessary support to the girls.

Unique opportunity

Mrs Ofori-Yeboah explained that the transition programme was a unique opportunity for the girls to be provided with the relevant information in the next one year as they awaited their results.

She mentioned that the operation of the 10-year scholarship support schemeby MasterCard for the girls, which started four years ago, was expected to end in 2022, stressing that: “So far, about 700 girls are also benefitting from the tertiary support programme.”

The Headmaster of Aggrey Memorial A.M.E. Zion SHS, Cape Coast, Rev. Dr Franklin K. Boadu, who chaired the function, thanked CAMFED for its support for girls and called on parents of the beneficiaries to support them to overcome all pressures from the society.