Students attend camp meeting in Accra to discuss adolescent problems
A number of organisations are organising separate camp meetings for male and female students drawn from some basic schools in the country at the Achimota Basic School in Accra.
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The Girls Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), with sponsorship from the Dutch Government, is organising a nine-day girls’ camp at the school on the theme: “Aspiring to Inspire: Minimising Unprepared Motherhood”, under Plan Ghana’s Girl Power Programme, while ActionAid Ghana has organised the 2014 Annual Boys’ camp to train boys to develop attitudes that would enable them to relate well with girls.
It is also to sensitise the boys to gender equality and promote an environment where boys will appreciate the need to respect and protect girls.
Speaking at the girls’ camp, the Plan Ghana Programme Manager in charge of Operations, Mr Raphael Bokumah, urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to vigorously tackle the issue of adolescent sexual reproductive health in order to address and reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy and unprepared motherhood, reports the Ghana News Agency.
He said education was a fundamental human right and the most effective way to alleviate poverty, declaring that “It is, therefore, very unfortunate that teenage girls miss out educating and empowering themselves due to unplanned pregnancies and, subsequently, unprepared motherhoods”.
The camp is being attended by 100 female students from basic schools drawn from the East Akyem Municipality in the Eastern Region and is the fifth in a series of seven girls’ camp scheduled to be undertaken this year by Plan Ghana.
Adolescent reproductive health
The participants will be trained in adolescent reproductive health and gender issues, and information and communications technology and will embark on visits to places of educational interest.
Mr Bokumah observed that so far 700 girls from the Eastern, Ashanti and Upper West regions had directly benefitted from their girls’ camps this year.
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He explained that the camp was a unique opportunity which brought girls from rural and deprived communities/schools together to instil such important qualities such as assertiveness, discipline, hard work and teamwork, among other values in them.
He said the camp was also targeted at increasing and rejuvenating the interest and passion of girl campers in education by exposing the participants to various role models.
Medical problems of adolescent girls
Mr Bokumah said adolescent girls suffered more medical problems than adult women because of their age, emotional state, economic status and social environment, and warned that pregnancies were risky for adolescent girls because their bodies were not fully mature and prepared for motherhood.
He further urged them to inspire their colleagues to complete their education and not to drop out of school due to unprepared motherhood.
Mr Stephen Adu, Director for Basic Education, advised teachers to inspire students to take their education seriously, stating that “we don’t want you to become mothers at the wrong time”.
Mrs Edith Kyeremanteng, Achimota Basic School Head Teacher, advised the participants to remember that the investments being made in them by their parents were intended to provide the leverage they needed to reach their ultimate potential.
Ms Esther Antwi, a participant, said she was hopeful that at the end of the camp she would be able to choose a career.
In another development, Lydia Ezit & Yaa Ntiriwaa Adjei report that about 65 boys aged 11 to 16 from remote communities in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta and Greater Accra regions are participating in a boys’ camp.
The participants would be engaged in a 10-day intensive training in human rights, personal hygiene, communication skills, sexual reproductive health and management, appropriate male behaviour in school, career counselling, gender sensitivity and prevention of violence against girls.
The camp, being held at the Achimota School in collaboration with the Girls Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), is to facilitate an end to gender-based violence in communities.
Since the introduction of the boys’ camp in 2001, boys numbering 215 have benefitted from the training.
Speakers
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the camp in Accra on Thursday, the Country Director of ActionAid, Mr Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, said the training would build the self-esteem and leadership skills of participants.
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He encouraged the participants to study hard to achieve their target goals and objectives.
In a keynote address, the Founder of Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), Mr Anis Haffer, stressed the need for participants to adopt an effective time management attitude to reach greater heights
He also urged them to learn a lot of Ghana’s local languages, especially their mother tongues for a successful personal development.
However, Mr Haffer underscored the need for them to adopt a proper personal hygiene, saying, “Washing your hands frequently with soap under running water will save you from the two deadly diseases [currently afflicting Africans], Ebola and cholera”.
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The National Co-ordinator for Early Childhood Education, GES, Mrs Margaret Okaine, encouraged boys to practice the skills and knowledge they would acquire from the camp.