Nyariga-Doone Women Association in Nyariga a suburb of the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region have celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a call on government to give vocational and technical education the needed attention.
The celebration was aimed at taking stock of what has happened throughout the years by looking at their achievements, challenges, lessons learnt and the way forward.
Nyariga-Doone Women Association was established in 1993 with the aim of empowering themselves economically.
The inability of the members of the association to read and write compelled them to co-opt male members.
The focus of the association over the years is to promote girl child education. The association has established Girls Basic School in the Nyariga which is the only Girls Basic School in the Upper East Region.
Some of the achievements of the association include the establishment and construction a computer laboratory with support from Blessing Basket Project Wholes food market in USA and Construction of Nyariga Clinic with support from the Japan Embassy.
In a speech read on her behalf, the Upper East Regional Minister, Paulina Patience Abayage, socio-cultural practices and gender roles have made females in the region vulnerable to the extent that, the effects hits their children and especially the girls which brings about a lot of complexity in society.
According to her, some of these complexities include not going through formal education, dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy, child trafficking, child marriage among others.
Ms. Abayage said the Nana-Addo led administration implemented free SHS policy for Ghanaian children especially girls because most of them could not progress from the basic level to secondary school level because of funding challenges among families.
She reiterated the NPP government’s commitment in transforming technical and vocational education and training in the country through the implementation of a 5-year technical and vocational education and training transformational agenda.
The programme according to Ms. Abayage, will see to the provision of adequate infrastructure, equipment and logistics in technical and vocational schools. She said government is refurbishing and retooling nationwide all the institutions under NVTI as part of measures to place premium on technical and vocational.
She said the move is a panacea to reducing unemployment situation in the country. The Coordinator of Nyariga-Doone Women Association, Rev. John Akaribo, appealed to government through the Ministry of Education to establish a vocational school in the area.
This, he noted, will provide employable skills to the youth in the area particular females.
Rev. Akaribo said the purpose of the occasion is to celebrate their achievements. He said the women association has been able to bring healthcare delivery to the door steps of the people in the area by building a clinic.
He said the establishment of the Nyariga-Doone Girls Basic School has helped reduce migration in the area.
Some of the members of the association who spoke to Radio Ghana called on government through the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to as a matter of urgency expand the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, LEAP.
Story by GBC’s Samuel Ayammah
