Gomoa Ojobi circuit holds sex education, sensitization programme for basic school girls

A maiden sex education and sensitization programme has been organized for the students of Gomoa Ojobi Circuit in the Gomoa East District Educational Directorate.

The much anticipated programme which was held on 20th May, 2021, at Gomoa Ojobi was heavily attended by the queen mothers, officers from the directorate, teachers, nurses, parents and all the girls from the various schools in their adolescent stage. The occasion witnessed a mammoth crowd in their thousands drawn from both the public and the private institutions who filled the Ojobi Church of Pentecost's Auditorium to capacity.

Speaking at the forum, Madam Ivy Owusu, the headmistress of Akoti Basic school spoke exclusively on adolescence and sex. In a very interactive discussion, she meticulously took students through menstruation, care and its management (the signs, the pain, the flow and hygiene).

She opined that this critical stage in the life of an adolescent needs careful personal hygiene practices to be able to stay away from infections and unwanted pregnancy. She repeatedly advised girls to involve themselves in rigorous activities that will take their minds and attention from any sexually related thoughts.

However, teaching the students how to manage their menstrual cycle and stay away from premature and unplanned birth, she took them through the calculation of their cycle. By this, she said, "Many women's menstrual period occur about once every 28 days. The length of a cycle could be as short as 21 days and as long as 35.

This cycle continues till one reaches menopause, i.e from 40years" She used a chart to demonstrate to students how they can study their menstrual cycle and take care of themselves.

She went further to caution them about indiscriminate sex which has high propensity to truncate their education and derail their progress to achieve greater heights.

This section was climaxed by a demonstration by Mad Diana Gyamfua, another resource person who showed the students how to fix a sanitary pad in a pant to avoid soiling their dresses which can cause discomfort and embarrassment for them as they go freely about their daily routine activities both at home and in the school.

At the turn of Madam Faustina Abbam, the Coordinator for Girls Girls, she mounted the podium and in a very pensive mood touched on a very sensitive issue that has adulterated the culture and moral fibre of society and has subsequently assumed national attention because of the alarming unprecedented figures.

She appealed to the conscience of the students to give the recent damming statistical release which casts a slur on government attempts to educate all girls of school going age to attain their highest potential in life a second thought.

Giving a brief statistical analysis of teenage pregnancy across the nation for year 2020 under review, she said that girls within 10 - 14 years who got pregnant were 2,865 whilst girls between 15 - 19 who got pregnant were 107,023. On the regional distribution, she said, Asante tops with Central coming third with pregnancy cases of 10,301 for the period.

The queen mothers in their speech admitted that the bus stops at the parents, since they have an onus task to mold the behavior and character of their children to become responsible adults.

The programme came to an end with an entertaining choreography by Akoti students who displayed worth of dexterity twisting their waist, paddling their legs, swinging the arms and nodding of heads to the admiration of all gathered. They indeed, dazzled the crowd with their moves which attracted a very deafening applause.