Queenmother calls for support for girl-child education
The Paramount Queenmother of Breman Essiam in the Central Region, Nana Efua Esiwaa II, has celebrated her 10th anniversary since her enstoolment with a call on the government and stakeholders to support the education of the girl-child.
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She said it was necessary to address the challenges hampering the education ofgirls so that they would be enrolled in school just like their male counterparts.
She has,therefore, appealed to parents to provide equal opportunities to their children and more important, the girl-child as a means to motivate her to achieve greater heights.
Interview
In an interview with the Daily Graphic during a durbar to mark her anniversary, Nana Esiwaa admonished parents to stop the practice of providing educational support for their male children at the expense of their daughters, saying the girl-child must not be looked down upon but provided with the needed support to enable her to stay in school.
Nana Efua Esiwaa, 52, known in private life as Maame Yaa Afoah, a businesswoman, was enstooled as queenmother in July 2006.
The event, which was well attended by people from all works of life, was on the theme: ‘Dedicated and committed leadership and service to Bremanman, the glory of God revealed’.
Education fund
She stated that a year after her enstoolment and realising the rate at which girls dropped out of school, she set up the ‘Nana Efua Esiwaa II Education Fund to provide financial support for girl-child education in the town.
The queenmother announced that about 40 girls were currently being sponsored from the basic up to the tertiary level to enable them to acquire quality education, explaining that the establishment of the fund had been a huge relief to parents who were not financially capable of supporting the education of their daughters.
Teenage pregnancy
Nana Esiwaa noted that some girls dropped out of school as a result of teenage pregnancy, which was often attributed to lack of sex education, and therefore called on parents to educate their adolescent girls on sex.
The Omanhene of the Breman Essiam Traditional Area, Odeefuo Afankwa III, commended Nana Esiwaa for her efforts to improve girl-child-education in the area and urged the young girls to be more focused so that they could emulate the exemplary leadership of the queenmother.
The District Chief Executive for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Mr Peter Light Koomson, praised Nana Esiwaa for her leadership skills since her enstoolment which had inured to the benefit of the people in the area and the district at large.He called on the people to be united since it was an important prerequisite towards the development of the district.