Bekwai (Ashanti Region) - The Rev. Father J.K. Mensah, the Acting Archdeacon of the Bekwai Archdeaconry of the Anglican Church, at the weekend advised men against luring poor girls into sex and other immoral activities.

Rev. Father Mensah, who was speaking at a day's workshop on personal data collection organised by the Women's Ministry of the church at Bekwai, said the practice partly contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.

The workshop, which was aimed at getting a data of the members of the church for effective planning of women activities within the archdeaconry, was also designed to develop relevant programmes to assist the youth, especially the girls to appreciate morality as a way of life.

Rev. Father Mensah said it was important for the church to empower its members economically to enable them provide the needs of their children so that they could avoid early sex.

The Acting Archdeacon said the church joined the fight against HIV/AIDS so that the government's huge expenditure on the control of the disease could be used for national development.

Madam Frances Georgina Assiamah, the President of the Women's Ministry explained that knowledge on the number of women, those gainfully employed and non-employed, their marital status as well as the number of children in a data could assist the in drawing it programmes.

She asked the participants to ensure that the knowledge and experience acquired at the workshop were applied to the benefit of other members of their communities and reminded women of their role in ensuring peace at homes and the proper upbringing of children.

Mrs Martha Mensah, 'Mother of the Church,' who spoke on "Children's Education", appealed to the women to encourage their children and wards to study at home to enable them pass their examinations.

She advised parents encourage their children especially the girls to discuss their problems with them, stressing, "this is a challenge to the Women's Ministry".