Wegbe Kpalime girls empowerment club gets patrons
The people of Wegbe Kpalime in the South Dayi District of the Volta Region have appointed seven eminent personalities, who are achievers in various fields of endeavours, to serve as patrons to ensure the sustainability of the girls empowerment club in the area, the Unique Club.
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The group is taking over from the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), which is withdrawing from the project, for lack of funds.
WiLDAF and the community had jointly promoted the concept of girls empowerment after the community was identified as experiencing the highest cases of teenage pregnancy in the district.
Membership
They are a resident of the United States of America (USA), Mr Kumah Asamoah; a former District Chief executive, Mrs Woyram Boakye Danquah; an engineer and businessman, Mr Felix Lartey; an Executive President of Perga Transport, Madam Bertha Ansah Djan; a predictive and planning engineer, Mr Felix Sedem Addae; an engineer, Mr Wellington Cofie; and a lawyer and banker, Miss Jessie Jacintho.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, the Dufia of Wegbe Kpalime and acting Paramount Chief of Kpalime Traditional Area, Torgbui Adza Wiah Kwesi II, said the community should be worried about the attitude of some boys and men who impregnated teenagers, and urged them to be proactive in addressing the moral decadence in the society.
“We should all bear in mind that the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. We need to act positively today and secure better future and security for our children tomorrow”, he said.
Stars of tomorrow
In her statement, a Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Dela Sowah, reminded young girls that they were stars of tomorrow and that they should be bold to expose those who abused them because their action could lead to the derailment of their goals for the future.
She said an educated woman was a great advantage to the society because she would certainly apply a multiplier effect to have her children educated, hence the need for girls to take education seriously.
A representative of WiLDAF, Miss Abigail Edem Hunu, advised parents to be king to their children and desist from punishing them by denying them food.
She also advised them against child abuse, asserting that insults and shouting were all forms of verbal abuse.
Speaking on behalf of the patrons, Mrs Boakye Danquah thanked the community for entrusting them with the task of girls empowerment and indicated that it was a demonstration of a high level of confidence reposed in them and pledged to work towards the attainment of the objective.
Call for support
In her address, a community facilitator of the club, Madam Rejoice Benibensu, said the unique girls club was formed because of the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the community from 2012 to 2014
She appealed for support to help in training them to acquire skills in soap making and production of confectionaries.
The Kplaime District Pastor of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Reverend Richard Amegboe, who inducted the patrons into office, charged them to use their time and resources voluntarily to serve the good cause of the girls.