Suhyen (E/R), March 19, GNA - About 250 teenage mothers in the New Juaben Municipality have been given the opportunity to go back to school or learn a vocation through a project being funded by USAID. The beneficiaries drawn from Suhyen, Oyoko, Jumapo, Effiduase and the Koforidua Zongo are being trained at a cost of Gh 21,000 cedis. The project, which is on pilot basis, is being undertaken by the World Education, a non-governmental organization (NGO) interested in the education of young girls, in collaboration with the Ghana Red Cross Society in the Eastern Region.

This came to light during an orientation programme organized for the beneficiaries at Suhyen on Wednesday. As part of the project the beneficiaries have been enrolled in "Susu" banking to qualify them for loans to start their businesses after the training.

Briefing the GNA Mr Martin Darko, Eastern Regional Director of the Red Cross, said the beneficiaries included school drop-outs, Junior and Senior High school leavers who could not further their education due to childbirth.

He said the 250 young girls were identified through an AIDS peer education and prevention programme organized in the communities as part of the empowerment project.

Mr Darko said the project cost would include feeding and upkeep of the beneficiaries throughout their training. Mrs Bridget Addey, a lecturer from the Koforidua Nursing Training School, urged the beneficiaries to utilize the opportunity to justify the moneys being spent on the project.

She told them that the only means by which they would have a secured livelihood was to have professional skills such as catering, hairdressing and dressmaking.