Mrs Andrews entreated the learners to take full advantage of the programme to transform their lives and not to be distracted by the desire for money on the streets.
“You are the maiden group on this project and the learning outcomes you demonstrate will provide grounds for our development partners to continue investing and scale up this project to impact more lives.
You are the future of this nation so work hard to position yourselves to help develop our dear nation. With determination and commitment, you can achieve your dreams,” she explained.
A Senior Educational Specialist at the World Bank Ghana, Eunice Ackwerh, making reference to data from the 2021 population and housing census (PHC), which estimates 1.2 million children between ages 4 and 17 being out-of-school in Ghana, with 610,000 aged 15 to 17 years, said the GEOP Lot 7B project was timely to address the challenge.
“The World Bank is delighted to be part of this programme which will bring real change in the lives of these children and I believe with the hard work of all key stakeholders, this project will achieve great results,” she added.
For his part, Reverend Father Campbell, a retired parish priest of Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra, stated that the project was an extension of his charitable works to support the needy and vulnerable in society having come from the same background.
He said the growing number of street children in Ghana, especially in urban areas like Accra was not only an infringement of the rights of children but a developmental risk.
Father Campbell then appealed to all kind-hearted or benevolent Ghanaians to support the project, saying; “we need your assistance to get more of these children off the streets and get them education, get them a home, get them a place where they can work and together provide a brighter future for our children.”
A TOTAL of 25 visually impaired persons selected from the Ho West District were yesterday taken through a day’s training at Dzolokpuita in the Volta Region to prepare them vote on the December 7, presidential and parliamentary elections.
They were taken through the use of the tactile jacket that would help them vote for their preferred candidate on the ballot paper.
The Ho West District Director of Electoral Commission, Ms Kafui Randolph, explained that it was the civic responsibility of every Ghanaian who attain the voting age to vote despite your disability.
“We should not discriminate against persons with any form of disability from voting since they also contribute to the development of the country,” she stated.
She noted that inclusive citizen engagement was essential for choosing our leaders.
According to her, ensuring a more inclusive persons with disabilities within our communities was very necessary.
Ms Randolph assured that with this, training visually impaired persons with little assistance can vote without any difficulty.
She further advised people who would lead them to the polling centres to allow them to choose their preferred candidates.
She mentioned that the Commission had brought a lot of innovations to improve the electoral processes.
She urged the youth to refrain from “misinformation and disinformation” as it could lead into tension before and after the elections.
She equally advised the media to be circumspect in their reportage and avoid needless sensationalism, since it could plunge the country into chaos.
She urged all who registered to come out in their numbers and avoid apathy leading to few people selecting our leaders.
Mr Eric Amegede Agbesi, a participant commended the Commission for the training since it would help them to be independent to vote themselves.
He, therefore, urged Electoral Commission to organise such trainings very early for them to be more focused.
He said formally, people who lead them to the polling stations held their hands and most of the time influence them to vote for different candidate.
FROM KAFUI GATI, DZOLOKPUITA
