TIS Girls United Club interacts with pregnant teenagers

By Laudia Sawer
Tema, June 11, GNA - Members of the Girls United Club from the Tema International School (TIS) have mingled and interacted with 39 pregnant teenagers at Tema Manhean (Newtown).

The interaction was to afford the club members the opportunity to learn from their cohorts the challenges of teenage pregnancy while encouraging them to make the best out of their situation.

It was facilitated by the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate and the Tema Manhean Health Centre Adolescent Corner.

Miss Anna-Maria Poku, a member of the club, told the Ghana News Agency that the one year old club was made up of 15 teenage girls aged 16 and 17 who had the vision to identify problems that deprived adolescents faced.

Miss Poku added that after attending some conferences to get information about the plight of such adolescents, club members decided to raise funds and embark on their first outreach programme.

The Girls United Club members after interacting with the 39 pregnant teenagers who were aged between 13 and 19, donated baby clothes, diapers and maternity pads to aid them on the pregnancy journey.

They expressed their amazement at the strength of their pregnant colleagues as according to them until they interacted with them, they had the perception that such girls would be dejected and depressed.

They encouraged them to return to school or acquire a vocation after giving birth to enable them to provide a better future for their children.

Girls United Club members also implored adolescents to abstain from sex or use contraceptives especially condoms if they want to be sexually active to ensure that they achieved their dream careers.

They described as unfortunate that most of the girls were either drugged, or had to agree to indulge in sex because of financial difficulties and parental neglect.

They therefore appealed to parents to do all they could to ensure that they provided the basic needs of their children while urging government to formulate policies that would help cater for such children.

Dr John Yabani, Tema Metropolitan Health Director, who engaged the club members prior to their interaction with the pregnant teenagers, said it was heartwarming to realise that the club members actually concerned about the plight of others.

Dr Yabani said the adolescent period was a time that most youths indulged in social vices especially sexual activities and drug use as they tried to explore and get answers to their life questions.

He indicated that to equip the adolescents in Tema with the needed information to guide them into making informed decisions, his outfit was embarking on a number of activities including establishment of adolescent health clubs in Junior and Senior High Schools, adolescent friendly corners in some communities and health centres.

He also noted that to encourage pregnant girls to access health care and not shy away from the hospitals due to stigmatization, special antenatal centres had been put in place for them to access the needed training on how to handle their pregnancies.

GNA