The formation of Virtuous Club in Bongo Feo community in the Bongo Traditional area of the Upper East Region, has contributed significantly to the reduction of teenage pregnancies, early child marriages and school drop outs among school girls in the area.
The Virtuous Club which is made up of girls between the ages of 10 to 17 are drawn from the primary and the Junior High Schools in the community.
This positive intervention is through the initiative of the Queen Mother of the Traditional area, Pognaba Agamboka Felicia.
This came to light during one of the engagement forums organized by the Queen mothers at the Bongo Feo community on Thursday.
Many of the beneficiaries who shared their testimonies about the benefits they derived from the club indicated that had not been the club, majority of the girls in the area would have become pregnant and drop out of school.
“Had not been the club most of us would have become pregnant and dropouts of school and even forced to early marriages. The club through its sensitization programme on Sexual Reproductive Health, management of menstrual periods and to stay away from premarital sex among others have helped us a lot”, Ms. Kamaru Jemera, a 15-year -old girl class six pupil intimated.
Ms. Emelia Agambika 15-year -old Junior High School student on her part indicated that unlike before where many of them used to attend funerals and passing out ceremonies in the nights, they no longer engage in such practices which lead to many teenagers becoming pregnant.
Ms. Nyaba Bashira a -14-year-old girl in Junior High form two, who said she had leant a lot in personal hygiene and how to keep the home and the environment clean thanked the Queen mother for her good initiative.
Members of the Club also stated that the club had natured in them sense of patriotism and good moral values such as how to respect parents, teachers and the elderly in the community as well as taken their studies seriously.
The initiator of the formation of the club, Pognaba Agamboka , explained that she decided to form the club because the District was recording high teenage pregnancies and early child marriages.
She explained that she holds meeting twice in a week for the club where resource persons including herself give talks and sensitization programme on personal development and indicated since the formation of the club in four years ago many girls in Junior High schools in the area had transitioned into Senor High Schools without becoming pregnant.
She stated that she also leads the club to organize clean up in the community periodically making the community a conducive atmosphere for staying.
She acknowledged the support of Community Development and. Advocacy Centre(CODAC), UNICEF-Ghana , the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council and appealed to other development partners to come to her aid to cover more girls in the area.
