Adopt and refine puberty rites - Joyce Aryee

Ho, Jan 20, GNA - Miss Joyce Aryee, Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, has suggested that society should adopt and refine traditional rites that promoted chastity to help check promiscuity among the youth.

She said though the rites were products of traditional religion their objectives were so relevant for society today that they needed to be reshaped for acceptance by Christians.

Miss Aryee was speaking in Ho on Friday at the launch of a 25-page book "sex education teaching aid for children and youth." The book was produced by the Women's Desk of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

She said though sexuality flowed through humans naturally, God expected that such urges were managed with decorum and with discipline. "It is perilous to awaken passion before the right setting has been provided," Miss Aryee stated, bemoaning the spate of social problems brought on women especially as a result of relationships going sour. "If you are told self control is not possible, it is a lie, remain chaste for the right time, with the right person in the right relationship," Miss Aryee said.

Rev Mrs Bridget Ben-Naimah, Women's Programme Officer of the church, said the idea for the teaching aids was born at a four-day women's consultation in Kpalime Togo for the Breman Mission churches. They comprised the EP churches in Ghana and Togo and four German churches belonging to the North-German Mission.

Mrs Ben-Naimah said the book was the first part of a series that would be produced based on evaluation of the performance of the current one with the target groups.

Miss Aryee bought some of the books for use at Mawuli School, Mawuko Girls, OLA Secondary School and the EP Church Seminary at Peki. 20 Jan 07