CURIOUS MINDS SUPPORTS GIRL BOSS INITIATIVE

As part of efforts to reduce unsafe abortions among young girls and create an enabling environment that supports adolescent girls and grants them access to safe services; Curious Minds has joined Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) on a 5-week long outreach to educate adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), safe abortion, education, menstruation and pursuing their dreams on the “Girl Boss” initiative.

The outreach was held in Chorkor, a community in the coastal areas of Accra. The beneficiaries of the outreach had little to no knowledge about the topics with the majority being out of school. The outreach presented an opportunity for peer mentorship to help share information and inspire the girls to aspire and pursue their dreams to become better and add value to their community and families.

The event, therefore, creates an opportunity for adolescent girls who are mostly in school to interact with peer mentors and peer counsellors who have been trained to provide adequate information regarding Sexual and Reproductive Health as well as career guidance. This is to enable girls in these communities to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and prevent unplanned and unwanted pregnancies which have mostly led to unsafe abortions and dropouts from school.

In this vein, girls’ reproductive needs are being assessed during a one-on-one session with their mentors as referrals are been made for services when the need arises.

Thus, girls who need services are encouraged to visit the health facilities where the professionals will provide appropriate services for them as they are presented with consequences of taking in unprescribed drugs to either terminate a pregnancy or avoid pregnancy to discourage them from indulging in such harmful practices.

Our members Mavis Aryee and Amidatu Kassim joined other peer mentors to engage the adolescents in a fun and adolescent-friendly way. Ayekoo! Well done ladies!