ARHR and its CBO partners have established parent network committees in three project districts; KEEA, South Dayi and Bosome Freho to support the Reproductive Health Education and Services (RHESY) project.
A forum was organised in the respective districts to orient the identified parents on the project as well as their roles and responsibilities in supporting its implementation at the community level. The forums equipped parents with relevant skills and knowledge about effective parent-child communication for positive lifestyles among adolescents in project communities.
The parents who were mainly mothers were provided education on some of the key topics discussed during adolescents girls network meetings in the project communities. They have been tasked to undertake periodic visits to homes in project communities to engage parents and guardians about the benefits of the project as part of ARHR’s strategy to changing negative community connotations about the Adolescent Girls Programme. A total of 46 parents were engaged; 44 were mothers and 4 were fathers.
The engagements with the parents were discussions with well vested facilitators. Other facilitation methods included lecturing and group work. Some of the topics discussed during the forums included Child Neglect, Defilement, Child Abuse and Early Child marriage. Facilitators included an Assembly woman and teacher, a police officer from the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service and an officer from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAG) office. Participants were provided education on the Children’s Act 1998, 560, the bill on the Rights for Children and the IPPF Charter on Sexual and Reproductive Rights through the PPAG Reach Out Manual.
A major output of the engagements was pledges by parents in attendance to commit to the education of their peers in the project communities to join forces in supporting the project. They also promised to support the work of trained adolescent health champions and community facilitators.
