NGOs told to make Valentine Day Constructive

Ho, Feb. 11, GNA - Mrs Patience Akosuavi Gemadi, Executive Director of Divine Favour Agency (DFA), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), on Friday urged youth focused NGOs to organize educative activities that would occupy the youth constructively on Valentine's Day. She suggested that such activities should blend entertainment with education on youth and social issues and HIV/AIDS.

Mrs Gemadi, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on how the youth should conduct themselves on Valentine's Day, said these strategic activities were the only way the youth could be lured away from indulging in useless ventures to mark the day. She said the celebration of Valentine Day in itself was a positive idea because it commemorated an important personality who demonstrated love to all mankind irrespective of sex and ethnicity.

Unfortunately, however, sexual promiscuity had come to characterize the celebration of the day over the years, she regretted. Mrs Gemadi attributed the situation to the "drop in good teacher-student relationships and good parent-child relationships", thus creating too much room for the youth to experiment on moral activities without guidance.

Mrs Gemadi said there were enough messages and lessons on humility, love and sacrifice that the youth should be learning from the celebration of the day.

"All is not lost yet, let's empower the NGOs a little to counteract the perversion of love and sex", she said.