The Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom and the Projects and Development Office of the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) Ghana Province, have organised Health Talks and Skills Training for female learners and teenage mothers in the Apostolic Vicariate of Donkorkrom in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District, Eastern Region of Ghana, as a way of empowering them and reducing high teenage pregnancy rates.
The one-year lasting sustainability project which was funded by KINDERMISSIONSWERK, together with Hand-in-Hand Friends for Ghana, Germany, benefitted 32 teen/young mothers from Donkorkrom, Adeemra, Amankwakrom, Amankwa Tornu and Ntonaboma, who underwent training in Catering (Bread, pastries, and local drinks), Fashion (Millinery and Accessories), Detergents Production and Basic Hair and Beauty Therapy.
The two-week training which ran from February 10 to 22, 2025 at the Alfons Merten’s Centre, Donkorkrom, was facilitated by Madam Grace Asante, for Catering; Mrs. Atikpli Patience, for Fashion; Madam Lily Tetteh for Detergents, all teachers at St. Mary’s Vocational Senior High School, Adeemra, and Madam Shelter Asabea Kumi, a beautician in Donkorkrom.
Speaking during the March 19, 2025 closing ceremony of the Training Workshop at the Alfons Merten’s Centre, Donkorkrom, Rev. Fr. Phanuel Myers Agudu, SVD, Director of Projects and Development Office (PDO) of the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD) Ghana Province, explained the purpose of the training, saying that it was aimed at empowering the young mothers to be able to take care of themselves economically.
He noted that this would go a long way to help the young women address difficulties that might come their way, hence reducing their chances of running into the arms of men for help, most of whom end up taking advantage of them.
“You will also be able to take care of your children, so that they too will not fall into that same vicious cycle of poverty,” he added, drawing the attention of the teenage mothers to the fact that the responsibility of making their lives better, lay in their hands.
“Make good use of what you have learnt these few weeks so that when we come again, we will see that you are able to use the skills to expand your businesses,” he encouraged them.
According to Fr. Agudu, the budget for the sustainability project stood at 27,700 Euros, and was approved in 2024, just a year after its submission in 2023.
Judging from the level of seriousness and enthusiasm with which he witnessed the young mothers participating in the training, the Project Director expressed optimism that the project would meet its intended goal.
He, therefore, encouraged the newly trained to truly appreciate the skills gained, through the generosity of Children Carol Singers in Germany, who could defy the chilly winter weather, moving from house to house to raise funds for their sisters and brothers in, Ghana.
“It is something that is very dear to me,” he confessed and further disclosed that the take-off packages given to the newly trained teenage mothers were loans which they are expected to pay back within a maximum period of two years.
They were encouraged to pay on a daily or weekly basis, as was convenient, and the Vicariate Projects Officer and Financial Administrator were charged to see to that. This, Fr. Agudu said, was to encourage the young mothers to take the skills more seriously and make the best out of them.
As a monitoring mechanism, the SVD Priest expressed that since he was working “hand-in-hand” with the Vicariate, he would be trusting Rev. Fr. Vincent Amuzu Asafo, SVD, in charge of the Projects and Development Office of the Vicariate, and who had helped to identify the contact persons in the communities for the project, together with the contact persons, with the direct follow-up responsibility, while he and his project team would make quarterly visits to the project site, to monitor the progress of the businesses.
The Project Director was particularly thankful to the donors for their support and interest in the Vicariate and other young Ghanaians. He was equally indebted to the Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, Bishop of Donkorkrom, for identifying the need in his local Church and calling for help.
Madam Rose Anarfiwaah Oppong, Project Officer, SVD Ghana PDO, who had been with the teenage mothers all through their period of training, challenged them not to allow their 2-week efforts to come to waste, but put into use all they had learnt.
She expressed the hope that as the newly trained get to expand their businesses, they would be able to employ one or two other teen/young mothers in their communities and support them, hence reducing the financial struggles in our community”.
The Project Officer further encouraged the teenage mothers to use the opportunity of having been empowered to stop depending on men, and practice abstinence. “Close up and focus more on your newly acquired skills,” she cautioned.
“Let that be your main preoccupation, and don’t go around sleeping with men for money again, else you will keep having more children, and that poverty cycle we want to break will continue,” she added.
As part of the project, there was some health education on menstrual hygiene management, reproductive health and sex education carried out in 5 different Junior High Schools within the Vicariate, namely: St. Michael R/C JHS, Adeemra R/C JHS, Ntonaboma R/C JHS, Ntonaboma Presbyterian JHS, Amankwakrom R/C JHS and Amankwa Tornu D/A JHS. The Project manager was accompanied to the selected schools by some health personnel from the Holy Rosary Health Centre, Amankwakrom, who delivered the health talks.
According to Madam Anarfiwaah, the health talks had been accompanied by the distribution of both disposable and reusable sanitary pads to the learners.
She further reported that earlier on, there had been similar education organised for teenage mothers on menstrual hygiene management, reproductive health and family planning as well as breastfeeding and weaning education, facilitated by health personnel from the Holy Spirit Catholic Polyclinic at Kwasi Fante. They also received sanitary pads, and some, sanitary cups, which was a novelty to most of them.
The Project Officer admitted that it was in the course of this earlier training that the teenage mothers were educated on the importance of learning skills, and upon interaction with them, they got to know the skills they were interested in, which then materialized during the February skills training workshop.
Activities featured during the closing ceremony of the skills training included, among others, the blessing of the Start-off packages for the Trainees by His Lordship, the Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, the award of Certificates, and words of advice and encouragement by the Bishop, Trainers, Parents of the Trainees and other Stakeholders to the newly trained.
Also, class prefects of each of the departments were symbolically handed their share of the package, and the rest of the trainees received theirs at the end of the closing ceremony.
Present at the ceremony were Fr. Vincent Amuzu Asafo, Rev. Fr. Matthew Akakpo, an Assisting Priest at the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Donkorkrom; Sr. Mary Stella Darkoah Yeboah, a Handmaid of Divine Redeemer Sister working at the Alfons Merten’s Centre, parents and guardians of the trainees.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate)//Newswatchgh.com
