Tamale, Dec. 19, GNA - A Tamale-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to providing humanitarian and development services to deprived communities in the Northern Region has supported 477 girls from 13 districts of the Northern Region to complete their secondary education this year.

Under the package, beneficiaries from the urban centres received 700,000 cedis each while those from the rural areas got 600,000 cedis each to enable them to pay their fees and to help them meet other educational needs.

Mr Seidu Abdul Samed, Acting Programmes Manager of Regional Advisory Information and Networks Systems (RAINS) and Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) told the GNA in an interview in Tamale on Monday that cheques amounting to 212 million cedis had already been paid to the various representatives of District Development Committees (CDAs) to be given to the beneficiaries who were in various secondary schools across the country.

Mr Samed said 277 girls who were already benefiting from the package would also receive 200,000 cedis in addition to exercise books and other educational materials to further their education. He said RAINS and its partners in the United Kingdom recognised the importance of education in nation building and the need to support and encourage girls to enrol in schools and would not relent in their effort to help the needy girls.

He said investing in girls' education yielded higher dividends, which helped individuals in both the public and private sectors to grow and advised families to invest in the education of their girls. Mr Samed observed that the focus on female education to promote gender equality and to empower women was making progress and called for further action to make real progress.