Gender
WOMEC launches project to help adolescent girls deal with abuses
Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), a non-governmental organisation that helps in shaping the lives of women in the society launched a gender-transformative programme in Kpone Katamanso Municipality in the Greater Accra Region, last week.
Abuses, including sexual harassment from stepfathers and older boys and domestic violence are some of the challenges adolescent girls have to contend with in Kpone-Katamanso.
According Ms. Dulcie Delali Attipoe, Projects Coordinator of WOMEC, a situational analysis report based on a study conducted through focus group discussions among residents in the area found that, some teachers in the municipality were sexually involved with female students.
She said the limited knowledge on sexual and reproductive health issues among adolescent girls were other pressing issues hampering the well-being and progress of girls in the community.
Ms. Attipoe revealed these findings during the launch of a Gender Transformative Programming (GTP) Turning Point Project, which sought to empower adolescent girls and a limited number of boys with knowledge in gender issues and other life skills in selected schools in the Kpone Katamanso municipality.
She said the project would run until 2022 and Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) implementing it. Global Affairs Canada and Plan International under the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) Ghana Project is funding it.
During the presentation, data showed that teenage pregnancy and school dropout rates were very high among teenagers and adolescent girls in the area.
Dr. Charity Binka, Executive Director of WOMEC reiterated that, the Turning Point project would use innovative approaches to strengthen 14 gender clubs in the schools to empower the teenage girls in the formative years to make informed choices about their lives.
She indicated that, the project would also sensitise selected senior secondary school students, especially boys to become gender champions so they could positively influence their peers to become gender sensitive.
The Executive Secretary pleaded for strong collaboration with stakeholders to help empower adolescent girls in order to turn their lives around for a brighter future.
Dr. Esther Danquah, Director of the Municipal Health Directorate, launched the project, under the theme, “building the capacity of the girl-child for national development,” during an interface meeting, which was attended by teachers, health workers and officials from the Ghana Health Service and Ghana Education Service.
Findings from the report showed that adolescents abused contraceptives and, therefore, recommended that education on sexual and reproductive health must be intensified.
In addition, parents should to establish a strong relationship or bond with their children to know what goes on in their lives.
The report again showed that the COVID-19 had made the situation of gender disparity worse as the rate of teenage pregnancy had increased due to the pandemic and brought all forms of hardship with the rate of crime increasing in the community.
Mrs. Millicent Caesar, Deputy Director at the Education Directorate urged the teachers to support the project to ensure a paradigm shift in the lives of women and to enable them to get their voices heard.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
Gender
Naa Ayele Osabu leads initiative to groom teenagers
Naa Ayele Osabu
An initiative to inspire the next generation, especially teenagers, by indulging them in after-school activities and programmes, is set to be launched on Saturday, November 30, 2024.
It would be launched by the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.
Dubbed, “Heal the world/Make it a better place”, the initiative undertaken by a youth based non-governmental organisation, would involve teenagers aged 11-17 years and selected from schools in the catchment area.
Speaking to The Spectator, Naa Ayele Osabu, the lead of the initiative, said it targeted kids in the Ga communities because there was a high prevalence rate of teenage pregnancy and school dropouts in those communities.
Additionally, she explained that with the introduction of the after-school programmes and activities such as karate, arts and crafts, the kids would have an experience that fostered discipline, sparked creativity, and develop their mental capacity to become more productive in their communities.
Furthermore, Naa Osabu said experts and professionals in respective programmes would be available to enrol participants and engage them.
The initiative, she said, was a long-term project to roll out in many other communities globally and therefore urged all stakeholders to support to ensure its successful implementation.
Naa Osabu, who owns Ayele Kelewele (a local food restaurant) has had one of the most challenging experiences as a child. “It’s during these tough times that I figured it would be best to make an impact in the society while the business is yet to blossom, hence this initiative.”
“Being a Ga girl, I know the challenges a lot of these young kids face on daily basis. This project will give these kids in the Ga community an opportunity that will, equip them with skills, spark their creativity and achieve the dreams they never thought will be possible,” she stated.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
Gender
50 women screened for breast cancer in Hohoe
Some participants at the event
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Forshes Africa Foundation, has organised a breast cancer awareness campaign in Hohoe, and educated residents on the need to ensure regular screening exercise for cancer for early detection and treatment.
The one-day cancer screening exercise, which was under the theme: “Early detection save lives”, saw 50 women screened for the disease, and those who were suspected of early development of cancer were referred to the Volta Regional Hospital at Hohoe for further medical examination.
Speaking at the programme, the Project Manager of Forshes Africa Foundation (FAF), Pastor Nana Jones Boame, stressed the need for women who were mostly victims of breast cancer to at all times take proactive measures to ensure they were safe from the disease.
Referencing Proverbs 27: 12 of the Bible which read “the prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty,” Pastor Boame emphasised the need to be cautious and take preventive actions to avoid harm.
He explained that in the context of breast cancer, early detection through screening was a wise and proactive step to potentially save lives through early diagnosis and treatment.
According to him, it was important for breast cancer survivors both male and females to share their experiences in order to offer hope to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, saying breast cancer also affects men but was only prevalent among women.
An Oncology Nurse Specialist at the Volta Regional Hospital, Mr Jonas Ntikie Njibe, explained that breast cancer simply occurred when cells in the breast grew uncontrollably, which could affect men and women but commonly found among women, therefore it was important for men to also screen and know their breast cancer status.
Mr Njibe said there was the need for people to adopt healthy lifestyles to reduce cancer, including regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and eating balanced diet which were crucial means to reduce cancer in the society.
From Samuel Agbewode, Hohoe
