Make education your priority - First Lady pleads with coastal girls

Traditionally, women are noted to be the care takers of the home, typically involved in domestic work and barely getting any formal education. The story is very different in today’s society, women actually compete with males in the educational world to prove themselves.

In line with advocating for girl-child education, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Rebecca Akufo-Addo has urged all girls in the coastal areas to make education their priority by enrolling in school to acquire knowledge and have a positive influence in their societies.

“I know there are many challenges facing teenagers and as a mother, I have to look for ways to solve the problem. Attending school is very important therefore, teenage girls who dropped out of school because of pregnancy should make it a need to go back to school. I’m standing here today because I went to school therefore, I urge you to take your schooling seriously,” she said.

Speaking at the launch of the ‘Because I want to be’ project Mrs Akufo-Addo promised the people of James town, Bukom and Chorkor, beneficiaries of the project, social amenities to enhance their studies and make schooling attractive.

Under the ‘Because I want to be’ project, teenage mothers, school dropouts and adolescents who do not have interest in school would be given the chance to acquire entrepreneurial skills such as hair dressing, bead making, dress making among others to serve as a source of income for them. She assured the people in the coastal areas open arms for the betterment of the nation.

“As first lady, I’m there for you, call on me when the need arises and I’ll answer you for the development of our country, Ghana.”

She called on parents, chiefs and other stakeholders involved to support the Rebecca Foundation’s project.

According to the UNFPA’s representative at the event, Dr Robert K. Mensah, the vision of the Rebecca Foundation which is in collaboration with UNFPA is to have a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young girl’s potential is fulfilled.

He revealed that the Rebecca Foundation will be working in six metropolitan areas which include nine communities, adding that, money spent on education is never a waste.

Dr. Mensah stated that, “Education is key to everyone’s success in life and incurring debt because of education is not a major problem. The major thing has been taken care of by the state and with the education policy, basic education is free, Senior High School education is also free so allowing girls who are pregnant or dropped out of school because of child birth to go back to school is imperative that we all tow that line”.

He emphasized that, the strategy of the first lady is not to finance anyone in school but rather, appeal to the conscience of society and parents to embrace the idea of going to school because it is the only way to eradicate poverty.