Send your girl-child to school - Plan International

Ellen Margrethe Loj, Board Chairperson of Plan International, has advised parents, especially those in rural communities to send their female children to school to enable them to access knowledge and skills to play useful roles in society.

She also tasked parents to mentor their young girls on sex education for them to know the dangers inherent in pre-marital sex.

Ms Loj who gave the advice while interacting with residents at Akotoe in the Upper Manya Krobo District on Tuesday as part of her working visit to the area, noted that in an era of technology it would be suicidal for parents to deny their girl-child education.

The Board Chairperson who was accompanied on the tour by Mr Prem Shukla, Country Director of Plan Ghana, told the people of the immense benefits girls’ education could bring to families and an entire nation.

She charged teachers in the community to be dedicated to their duties and to teach the children properly so they would pass their examinations with ease.

Ms Loj earlier in the day inspected a five-acre irrigation vegetable farm being cultivated by the Akotoe Youth Empowerment Group.

She commended the group for embarking on the irrigation farming project which allowed them to do all-year farming thus preventing the youth from migrating to the urban centres to look for non-existent “white collar” jobs.

Mr John Tetteh Kwesi, leader of the group, told the visiting team that they re-invest part of the proceeds from the farming venture into the project and used the rest of the income to fend for themselves.

“But for this farming project, I will not have been able to cater for my family and to educate my children”.

Mr Joseph Tetteh Angmor, Upper Manya Krobo District Chief Executive (DCE), thanked Plan Ghana for its assistance to the communities so far.

He said Plan Ghana's efforts in the provision of educational and Health facilities in the area needed commendation and gave the assurance that the Government would complement the efforts of the organization to ensure that the District was well developed.

Mr Shukla on his part commended the DCE for monitoring the progress of all projects being undertaken by Plan in the area.

He indicated that youth development was their goal, adding that the organization would continue to give scholarships to brilliant but needy pupils, especially girls, to further their education to higher levels.

Mr Kofi Adade Debrah, Program Unit Manager, Eastern Region, appealed to the various communities that Plan had sited projects to take good care of them to prolong their life span.