The General Secretary of the Association of Bongo Queen Mothers, Pogenaba Felicia Aganboka, has expressed concern over the high rates of teenage pregnancy and child marriage in the Bongo District.
Pogenaba noted that the alarming situation prompted the Queen Mothers to seek permission from the district director of the Ghana Education Service to educate young girls about the consequences of early marriage and teenage pregnancy. Their efforts resulted in a significant drop in the district’s rankings, moving from first to eleventh out of fifteen districts in the region. However, the figures began to rise again due to a lack of resources. Even within her own traditional area, Bongo-Feo, she received reports from community members about young girls marrying early and becoming pregnant.
Determined to address this issue, she has taken it upon herself to reignite the campaign against child marriage and teenage pregnancy in the district.
“The situation was so dire in Bongo District that we, the Queen Mothers, decided to initiate our own program. We wrote to the district Ghana Education Service director requesting permission to visit schools and sensitize young girls and boys about the effects of teenage pregnancy and early marriage. He granted us permission, and we were able to visit almost all the basic schools and all four senior high schools in the district. Initially, we were the top district in the country for teenage pregnancy and child marriage, but through our sensitization efforts, we improved to eleventh out of fifteen districts. Unfortunately, as our resources dwindled, we had to pause our initiatives, and the rates began to rise again. In my own community, I received distressing reports from children telling me that girls were marrying off too young. This hurt me deeply, so I resolved that this must not continue. I decided to visit some schools myself,” Pogenaba Felicia Aganboka stated.
She also expressed hope that the intervention of the Obaapa Development Foundation, with support from UNFPA, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, will provide timely assistance in combating child marriage and teenage pregnancy in the Bongo Traditional Area. The capacity-building workshops organized by the Obaapa Development Foundation have empowered the Queen Mothers to take more effective action.
Source: mywordfmonline.com/ Gaspard A Adongo