The Nkawkaw Area Women’s Ministry of The Church of Pentecost donated items to some schools within the Nkawkaw municipality yesterday to observe this year’s International Day for the Girl Child.
During separate presentation ceremonies held on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the five districts of the church in the Area jointly donated 550 packs of sanitary pads to the Pentecost Preparatory School, Nkawkaw (PPS-Nkawkaw), and the God Is Able International School. They also donated 600 biscuits and drinks to children in lower primary levels.
Presenting the items, the Assistant Area Women’s Ministry Leader, Deaconess Christine Parku, encouraged parents and teachers to desist from practices that hinder the healthy growth and potential of the girl child.
She cited rape, defilement, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and neglect in education, among others, as examples of such hindrances.
She also advised the girls to take advantage of the Government’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programme in order to increase enrollment of the girl child in tertiary courses traditionally categorised as “male courses.”
The National Guidance and Counseling Coordinator of the Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS), Mrs. Lydia Gunney, who represented the PENTSOS Directorate at the event, advised parents (and guardians) to refrain from overlooking the needs of the girl child when it comes to the distribution of resources, especially during times of financial difficulties.
She also advised them not to classify or assign household chores by the gender of their children (wards).
The Headmaster of PPS-Nkawkaw, Elder Martinson Yeboah, who received the items on behalf of the school, thanked the ministry for the kind gesture.
Present at the ceremony were Pastors Edmund Yorke Sackey, Joseph Ntiamoah, William Appiah Britten, Francis Agyei, Benjamin Asare, the Area Women’s Ministry Executive members, and some officers in Nkawkaw Area.
The International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. The observation advocates more opportunities for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based on their gender. This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women, and forced child marriage.
Report by Nkawkaw Area Media Team