Netherlands Ambassador, Ron Strikker
The Ambassador of the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands to Ghana, His Excellency Ron Strikker has applauded the chiefs and people of Boti and its Seven (7) neighbouring towns for enacting by laws aimed at dealing with child marriages and teenage pregnancies in the area.
Speaking at a durbar organized by The Hunger Project Ghana under the Her Choice Program, His Excellency Ron Strikker stated that he is highly inspired by the commitment shown to embrace and work towards a global vision of child marriage free communities.
All over the world, 22 million girls are married and it is estimated that up to another 280 million are at risk of becoming brides before they turn 18. More than one in every five girls in Ghana is married before the age of 18 and 5% are married before their 15th birthday.
Child marriages are often driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys. Child marriage in Ghana is also driven by Gender norms, traditional customs, poverty, rural-urban migration, illiteracy amongst others. It is the reason, The Hunger Project Ghana in partnership with an alliance of four Netherlands-based organizations launched the Her Choice Program in 2016 to lead the campaign of combatting early child marriage and teenage pregnancies in the country.
The core objective of this program is to create child marriage free communities by educating and empowering the girl and boy child in rural Ghana to withstand the societal pressures when they arise.
The people of Boti, a suburb of the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region of Ghana and its surroundings continue to benefit from the Her Choice Program and are on the path of totally eradicating early child marriages and teenage pregnancies in their communities.
The Ambassador of the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands to Ghana, Ron Strikker as part of his administrative roles paid a two-day visit to witness for himself the advancement and impact made by the Her Choice Project.
Speaking at a gathering, His Excellency Ron Strikker stated that he was extremely enthused by the zeal exhibited by the people of Boti and its bordering towns to terminate this societal cancer.
The Ambassador in furtherance asked the chiefs and leaders not to solely focus on the girl or the male-child but rather the youth and the entire community since the eradication can only be achieved when everyone is sensitized. He added that the Netherlands government is actively dedicated in helping bring this growing global scourge to a complete end.
Also speaking at the durbar, the Country Director of The Hunger Project-Ghana, Mr. Samuel Afrane thanked the Dutch government for helping fund this noble course. The THP-Ghana Country Director also tasked the Chiefs and Queen-mothers of the area to do all they can to sustain the project even in the absence of The Hunger Project Ghana.
The occasion was graced by the representatives of the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly, The Hunger Project-Ghana, the Netherlands Embassy and the people of Boti and its neighbouring towns.
