Yendi students want help to end open defecation

Young Female Parliamentarians (YFP) - a group of female students - of the Yendi Senior High School, have appealed to the Yendi Municipal Assembly to build a toilet facility for the girls’ dormitory to end the resort to open defaecation.

Ms Abdul-Wahab Azara, the Speaker of YFP and the Girls’ Prefect of the School, made the appeal when members of YFP called on the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Yendi, at his office at Yendi to brief him about the challenges facing the girls of the school.

The Girls’ dormitory houses more than 500 students but it does not have a functioning place of convenience.

Ms Abdul-Wahab said ending the practice was a high priority because it exposed students to various hazards.

She said: “The threat of being beaten by snakes in the bush, attempted rape by unscrupulous men, fatal accidents on the roads as we walk miles into the bushes and even armed robbery attempts on some students cannot be overemphasised.”

Mr Edward Bismark Akakpo, the Assistant Headmaster in-charge of Domestic at Yendi SHS, said the lack of toilet facility at the school’s girls dormitory was a security threat, which needed to be urgently addressed.

Mr Issah Zakariah, the MCE of Yendi, gave the assurance that plans were afoot to construct a toilet facility for them.

The members of the YFP also called on the Regent of Dagbon to appeal to him to use his high influence to get a toilet facility for the girls’ dormitory.

The Regent of Dagbon also complained about the lack of toilet facilities at the School, saying that he was contacting some institutions to help to address the situation.

He called for equal opportunities for all children to realise their full potential in life.

The YFP initiative aims to equip young girls with leadership skills to fight for their rights, and it is facilitated by NORSAAC, a non-governmental organisation, with funding from ActionAid Ghana.