The Atonkor community in the Buem Traditional Area, Oti Region, has not recorded any case of teenage pregnancy for the past four years.
The success story is attributed to an intervention dubbed, ‘Be Smart Project’, introduced by Plan International Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in the Jasikan and the Akuapem North municipalities.
The project is an integrated behavioural change programme meant to reduce cases of gender-based violence that increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Assembly Member for the Atonkor Electoral Area and Child Protection Member, Mr Daniel Kwesi Ofori, who disclosed this during a visit to the community by media personnel facilitated by Plan International Ghana, said before the project, the community used to record cases of teenage pregnancy every year.
Mr Ofori said the main occupation of the people in the community was farming, and as such the poverty level there was quite high, in view of that some parents pushed their teenage daughters to engage in early sex in order to get money.
He said with the introduction of the ‘Be Smart Project’ in the community, the personnel from Plan Ghana embarked on a sensitisation exercise, educating community members on the dangers of teenage pregnancy and irresponsible parenting.
“We went to churches, mosques and attended funerals to talk to the community on sexual and gender-based violence, the dangers of teenage pregnancy and irresponsible parenting. We also advised parents to attend to the needs of their children and this has really helped,” he pointed out.
Parents and guardians
Mr Ofori said parents and guardians were made to understand that if they did not take care of their children, they might be pushed to engage in early sex, which could lead to teenage pregnancy, making them drop out of school and ending their education.
He said the young girls had been trained and empowered to report sexual harassment directly to institutions such as the Department of Social Welfare, the Municipal Assembly and the Police.
“The girls have the numbers of these institutions so they can call and report any form of sexual advances or abuse directly to them,” he added
Mr Ofori said the girls were also advised not to report such cases to any adult, since they might cover up incidents of abuse because of family ties.
A teacher and chaperone of Plan International Ghana project, Ms Elizabeth Agyeiwaa, added that under the intervention, they had been educating the young girls about the importance of education and the consequences if they dropped out of school due to child birth.
Ms Agyeiwaa said they also created an environment where the children could confide in the chaperones the problems they faced about their reproductive health in order for them to be addressed.
Be Smart Project
The Child Protection and Safeguarding Specialist of Plan International Ghana, Mr Abubakari Adamu, who gave a background information on the Be Smart Project, said during the project, community child protection committees were set up, capacity of state institutions was also built and the communities were linked to the state institutions.
He explained that, there were protocols for children to report all forms of abuse, and these included the community based child protection systems, such as the Police, the Plan International Ghana office which would further report to their global office.
For cases such as rape, murder and defilement, Mr Adamu said the children were made to understand that the community based child protection committees were not supposed to handle them and such cases must be reported directly to the Police.
