Koforidua, June 7, GNA - The First Lady, Mrs Theresa Kufuor has called for economic empowerment of women to enable them to support the education of their children and save the future of the youth. She lamented that in spite of the importance of education, many girls continued to drop out of school and expressed the need for measures to contain the situation.

Mrs Kufuor was speaking at the opening of a five-day skills-training workshop for 20 women in the manufacturing of toilet soaps sponsored by the Mother and Child Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, at the St. Joseph's Hospital, Effiduase-Koforidua on Tuesday.

Mrs Kufuor, who is patron of the Foundation, said the organisation would provide some materials for the trainees, which they could use to start work after their training. They are to use the money, which they would realise from the sale of the soap to form their capital for production.

She advised the participants of the workshop to form a co-operative to enable them to benefit from financial assistance from the banking institutions.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Barimah said this year, the government would be concerned with human resource development aimed at empowering the individual to take advantage of the economic situation in the country to improve upon their economic well-being.

He noted that when women were given money as a means of empowerment, they could end up spending the money on unnecessary items and then wait for another but when they are provided with skills training, they could always use the skills acquired to make money. Mr Barimah expressed the hope that the participants would use the skills they would acquire to improve upon their standard of living. The Queenmother of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Nana Yaa Daani, who chaired the function, thanked Mrs Kufuor for her vision to empower women.