She called on parents and all stakeholders to refrain from what she described as unnecessary ‘condemnation and judgmental attitude’ towards adolescence and urged them to come together and see the possibilities of re-shaping the lives of the youth.
The Paramount Queen-mother observed that parents, guardians, and the “entire” society were responsible for the rise in alcoholism, promiscuous lifestyles, gambling, drug abuse and peddling, and the waywardness of the youth, saying “we must stop the unnecessary criticisms and consider how we can bring the youth back to life.”
Nana Brayie made the call when speaking at the opening session of a local learning and policy hearing forum held at Abesim, near Sunyani.
The Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), a Sunyani-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) working to improve the lives of adolescents, organised the day’s froum under its Resilient City for Adolescents Projects.
Being funded by the Swiss Botnar Fondation at the cost of £300,000, the implementation of the three-year adolescent inclusive project seeks to improve the lives of adolescents in the country, targeting to directly benefit 1,500 young people and indirectly reach out to 3000 boys and girls.
Nana Brayie expressed regret that many parents and guardians neglected their children during adolescence, a stage mostly characterized with several life challenges, saying, “instead of drawing them closer and understanding them, we rather neglect them”.
“We often deny them the required advice they needed, and we turn back to criticize them. At that stage they have a lot of exuberances and go through several challenges as well.
“So, if we neglect and don’t get closer to them to appreciate and understand them better, then, we are not doing them good and that is the period they also channel their exuberances into unproductive lifestyles,” Nana Brayie stated.
She commended the GloMeF and its partners for the implementation of the project and called on the Sunyani Municipal and Sunyani West Municipal Assemblies to support and help tackle some of the pressing challenges confronting the youth.
Earlier in a welcoming address, Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Chief Executive Officer of GloMeF, mentioned inadequate access to quality education, and healthcare, to the threats of violence and exploitation as major challenges confronting adolescent people.
He said building a resilient city for adolescents required collaboration between the government, civil society, private enterprises, and the community at large, and called for prioritization of quality education and mental health.
“We must innovate and invest in programmes that provide adolescents with opportunities for growth, leadership and civic engagement as well as mentorship programmes, youth councils, and community service projects to empower young people to take an active role in shaping their communities,” Mr Ahenu stated.
