By Priscilla Oye Ofori, GNA
Accra, Oct 21, GNA – The Church of Pentecost has called for the empowerment of boys to complement the Girl Child.
Pastor Frank Mensah Tandoh, National Coordinator of the Schools Outreach Ministry, Church of Pentecost (CoP), cautioned that Ghana risked raising a generation of “very “empowered women without empowered men to handle them if boys continued to be neglected.
He made the call at the commemoration of this year’s International Day of the Girl Child in Accra, organised by the Ghana Education Service in collaboration with the CoP Headquarters, Women’s Ministry and Schools Outreach Ministry.
The Day is marked globally on October 11 to address the unique challenges faced by girls and promote their empowerment and rights.
The International theme is: “End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights.” whiles the regional sub-theme, is :”Investing in the health, safety and empowerment of the Girl Child.”
Pastor Tandoh said while the girl child campaign had been very effective with tremendous strides, statistics showing parity in school enrollment also revealed boys gradually withdrawing.
He said the empowerment of the girl child must include boys so that as girls stride on, boys were also included.
“We have seen and we have observed, and we think we need to nip it early. Otherwise, in a few years to come, we will have very empowered women, and we don’t have an empowered male to handle them,” the National Coordinator stated.
He cited a recent programme with the corporate world where employers complained that girls come very collected for interviews and handle jobs well, while boys lack confidence and direction.
“Professionally, the ladies are getting to do far better in this regard. The male will be the head of the family, so if the male is not empowered in his ability to handle even the family, it has a lot of replicating effects, economic issues and all that,” he added.
Mrs Philomena Mireku, Deaconess and Director of the Women’s Ministry of the CoP, said boys must be allowed to express their feelings and seek help.
She noted that a boy who was threatened, bullied, or abused deserved to be heard and protected.
Mrs Mireku said the word “investing” required something from everyone, including time, attention, resources and accountability.
“Parents must listen to their children, support their education, and share responsibilities fairly,” she stated
She explained that creating safe schools meant addressing the needs of both girls and boys, ensuring no child suffered in silence.
The Director called on teachers to respond promptly to bullying and harassment, and to encourage girls to participate in diverse areas including sports and leadership.
The Schools Outreach Ministry is an intervention of the CoP to “Possess the Nations and transform the world with kingdom values and principles”
Its focus is to collaborate with the education sector to nurture young people with culturally and socially acceptable values requisite for national development.
The Ministry assists learners to climb the highest ladder of academic excellence while also instilling values to undergird that growth, so that at the foundational Basic School level they aspire to hard work, honesty, endurance and excellence.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
By Priscilla Oye Ofori
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