Jirapa, (U/W), Aug. 6, GNA – The Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Girls Project (EROP) is supporting some 20 out of school young girls in the Jirapa Municipality and Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region with sewing machines and other equipment for weaving.
The gesture, which is part of the project’s economic empowerment component, is to enable the young girls to learn economic skills for self-empowerment to avoid early or forced marriages.
Presenting four of the sewing machines to some of the girls at Jirapa, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Human Rights and Sustainable Development (AfCHuRSD), Madam Bernice Naah, said apart from those interested in learning sewing and weaving, a few of them would be supported to go back to school to continue their education.
“These are girls we can guarantee are interested in staying through the three year training period because we have interacted with them and they have indicated their interest and commitment to acquire the skills,” she said.
Madam Naah said a team would be visiting the girls periodically to monitor their progress, motivate and encourage them as well ensure successful completion of the training.
Ms Lydia Batuuro, a beneficiary, from the Goriyiri community in the Nadowli-Kaleo District, expressed gratitude to AfCHuRSD and its partners for the support to enable them to acquire economic skills to support themselves.
Ms Hellena Domo, a young girl from Ul-Tuopare community in the Jirapa Municipality, said she was happy to be receiving support from the EROP project to continue her education at the Jirapa Nursing Training College.
“Without the support, it would have been impossible for me to continue my education,” she said and thanked AfCHuRSD and the partners for helping to put her on course to realise her dream of becoming a nurse.
GNA