The Upper Manya Krobo District Director of Education, Ms Esther Bossman-Ammah, has reminded young girls that they have a major role to play in determining who they want to be in future.
Ms Bossman-Ammah was speaking at the formal opening of a three-day girls’ camp for 150 girls selected from community girls football teams from the rural areas of the Akuapem North Municipality and the Upper Manya Krobo District.
The community football team concept is a strategy adopted by Plan Ghana, a non-governmental organization, to promote positive behavioural change and empowerment of vulnerable girls in rural communities.
The camp is being organized by the Department of Children in collaboration with the Eastern Regional Secretariat of the Girls Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service and funded by UNIQLO Limited of Japan through Plan Ghana.
The campers would be trained in mathematics, science, , leadership, advocacy, media and vocational skills in batik, tye and dye, soap amd beads making.
Ms Bossman-Ammah advised the girls to combine their football with education to excel in both and urged them to take full advantage of all the opportunities offered them by the camping.
Mr Martin Agyekum Boakye, Assistant Director at the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly, said the era when some professions were regard as a preserve for men is far gone and opportunity had been given to women to occupy prominent places in the country.
He therefore urged the participants at the camp to look up to women occupying important positions in the country and let their accomplishment inspire and motivate them to aspire to higher heights in future and work towards that.
Mr Asum-Kwarteng Ahensah, Eastern Regional Programme Director of Plan Ghana, said girls were among the most vulnerable due to socio-cultural factors and those from the rural areas are more vulnerable.
He said such girls are less empowered and are more likely to suffer abuse or be denied access to their basic rights like education, health and are likely to drop out from school, get pregnant during teenage years and more likely to be unemployed during their adult life.
Mr Ahensah said it was in that light that during the past five years, Plan Ghana had adopted girls football as a platform to promote positive behaviour change and empowerment of vulnerable girls in the rural areas.
