New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Cape Coast North constituency, Mrs. Barbara Asher Ayisi, has inaugurated the “Barbara Asher Foundation” to raise funds to help curb teenage pregnancy in Cape Coast and the Central region as a whole.
The foundation, which will help the poor and needy in the constituency by offering guidance and counseling to the youth as well as provide scholarships and learning materials to needy but brilliant students, will solicit for funds to address the soaring cases of teenage pregnancy in the area.
Launching the foundation with a fund-raising dubbed; “Help a friend fund raising,” in Cape Coast at the weekend, Mrs. Asher Ayisi observed that it was sad for the Central region to be the fourth poorest region in the country in spite of the potential the region has.
She added that it was against this backdrop that she decided to set up a foundation as her contribution in helping to make Cape Coast a better place.
“No one can develop Cape Coast unless we all make a collective effort to develop our dear town,” she added.
The NPP parliamentary candidate revealed that her foundation has dedicated this year’s programme to young teenage mothers in the constituency after realising how teenage pregnancy was gaining roots in the area.
“It is sad to see young beautiful girls who could have done something with their lives loitering about with their young children who are also not in school so I and my team have decided to make the world a better place for these girls,” she explained.
“It will shock you to know that most of these young girls are bread winners of the family, meaning if they do not go to the men, their families will starve. This is why we should not be quick to judge these girls but get to know why they do what they do and find ways to help them out,” she stated.
She thus called for a sustainable strategy by leaders in the area to address teenage pregnancy.
Mrs. Asher Ayisi disclosed that her outfit intends to send and help those who are willing to go back to school and those who wish to learn a trade.
“We are not using this as a platform to campaign but I want to contribute in my own small way to make Cape Coast a better place,” she said.