Action Aid Ghana to begin organizing Boys Camps in Northern Regions

Bolgatanga, Aug. 31, GNA - Action Aid Ghana (AAG) in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) would soon begin organizing boys camps in the three Northern Regions aimed at fighting against certain negative cultural practices that violate girls and women rights.

AAG through the GES has been organizing Regional Girls' Camps which attract female pupils from basic schools in districts in the Upper East and other regions, excluding the boys.

In the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions there are certain inimical cultural practices such as widowhood rites, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriages among others that inhibit the fundamental rights of girls and women.

The Upper East Programme Manager of AAG, Mr James Kusi–Boama announced this in Bolgatanga on Friday during a Girls Camp which attracted 100 girls from basic schools from all the districts in the Region.

He said AAG had started with the National Boys Camp which took place in Accra and it would be decentralized to the ten regions across the country, with the sole aim of instilling into the boys the spirit of fighting and championing against negative cultural practices and actions that violate the rights of girls and women.

“It is against this backdrop that AAG through all its programmes have been integrating gender issues particularly women empowerment and will continue to do that to empower women”.

Mr Kusi–Boama said it was only when women take up leadership position in communities that transparency and accountability would be achieved.

“The Girls Camp since its inception in 2001 at the National and 2009 at the Regional levels had impacted positively on the life of more than two thousand and twenty girls nationwide and out of that number, five hundred and twenty are from the Upper East Region”.

He said AAG through the GES had also formed Girls Clubs in schools where mentors are usually invited to talk to them and counsel them.

The Girls who are attending the one week camp would be taken through topics including, Counselling and Guidance, Building of Self-Confidence, Personal Hygiene, Setting Goals, Reading Skills and Management of Menstruation among others.

He impressed upon the girls to be ambassadors to their respective communities by replicating the knowledge acquired to their community members.

Mrs Rose Akanson, Regional Girls Child Education Officer, commended AAG for organizing the programme and donating foot wear, under wear, tooth brushes and soap among others to the girls.

GNA