Adoagyiri (E/R), Sept. 3, A two-week leadership training programme for 25 girls in Junior Secondary Schools has ended at Adoagyiri, near Nsawam, with an appeal for the stepping up of training programmes for adolescent girls. Miss Yvette Dzeble, an Attorney of Mobil Oil Ghana Limited, urged the government, parastatals and private organizations to contribute positively to such programmes because ”empowerment without adequate training becomes mere rhetoric.” The workshop, on the theme ”the role of adolescent girls in nation building by the year 00” was organised by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and sponsored by Mobil Oil Ghana Limited. Miss Dzeble said the YWCA/Mobil programme is a concrete example of what organisations can do to give a meaningful support to the call for the development of the girl child. The participants received lectures on vocational skills and small business entrepreneurship. Miss Attawa Akyea, Administrative Secretary of the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD), said the girls have been prepared for their future responsibilities. Miss Akyea said the programme has broadened the participants’ knowledge of adolescent reproductive health issues and raised their awareness of the socio-economic factors of teenage pregnancy. The education of girls and women is one of the powerful forces of
development, particularly where social needs and economic advancement are constrained by rapid population growth and a weak human resource base. Mrs Eunice Ama Osei, YWCA National Youth Secretary, said about 100 participants from all the 10 regions have benefited from the programmes which are held during the long school vacation.
