‘Teenage pregnancy among kayayei is worrying’
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SIC Life, Dr Aaron Issa Anafure, has made a passionate appeal to public-spirited Ghanaians to join the outreach programmes initiated by the Pamela Bridgewater Project to curb the growing trend of teenage pregnancy among head porters.
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He said it was worrying to hear that some unscrupulous men allegedly took advantage of the head porters to engage them in sexual activities, which leave them pregnant while the men refuse to take up any responsibility.
Dr Anafure made this appeal in Accra at a ceremony to present a cheque to support the Pamela Bridgewater Project’s ‘End of Ramadan/Eid ul-Fitr health care and outreach programmes for kayayei.
Appeal
He also appealed to market women to assist in educating the girls on preventing teenage pregnancies and the dangers associated with living on the street as a pregnant woman.
“Our mothers and sisters in the market can undertake patriotic and responsible duties by counselling the girls against this phenomenon,” Dr Anafure said and stressed that “a child cannot carry a child”.
He called on Members of Parliament from the three regions in the northern part of the country, chief executives of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and chiefs and their elders to initiate sensitisation programmes to highlight the difficulties young girls faced in their quest to make a living on the streets.
He suggested that responsible persons in the north should encourage girls to get educated and also fashion out schemes such as the provision of vocational training for the disadvantaged girls to prevent from migrating to the south to engage in menial jobs.
Call on opinion leaders
Dr Anafure called on opinion leaders in the northern part of Ghana and the leadership of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to be vigilant and help stop the trafficking of women and young girls to work as ‘kayayei’ in the big cities.
The Events Organiser of the Pamela Bridgewater Project, Ms Evelyn Mozadka, thanked Mr Anafure for his exemplary role in supporting the campaign to address the challenges facing kayayei and also called on others to follow his good example.
The Pamela Bridgewater Project provides for needy girls through training, protection, advocacy and research.
