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General News of Sunday, 6 October 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Zonta Club of Accra Metropolitan promotes mental health in schools

Zonta International was commemorating its centenary anniversary Zonta International was commemorating its centenary anniversary

The Zonta Club of Accra Metropolitan, an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) on Saturday, organised a bazaar to raise funds to support its advocacy of promoting mental health especially among women and girls.

The fundraising exercise was specifically focused on helping to address mental health issues in secondary and tertiary education institutions.

Mrs Sandy Kojo-Andah, the President of the Club, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said there has been a spate of suicide cases recorded in secondary and tertiary education institutions.

Zonta Club of Accra Metropolitan, therefore, decided to reinforce the initiative and focus on helping to address the problems in the schools with activities such as mental health talks.

She said if a child is married early, it puts stress on her and her family, adding that, “If you are feeling stressed and disturbed, you can talk to somebody, you don’t have to take the ultimate decision all by yourself as it may be dangerous, hence the educational talk we want to organise in schools.”

“You will be surprised to know that in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a high prevalence of child marriages. Four out of 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa would be married before turning 18, according to reports.”

Mrs Kojo-Andah said it was as a result of this problem, that the Club decided to speed up its campaign against child marriage especially as its parent body, Zonta International was commemorating its centenary anniversary.

“We are also coming together with the other Zonta Clubs in the country to advocate the reduction and total eradication of child marriage in the country.

As part of the educational campaign, she said, the Club would visit traditional leaders, religious bodies, parents and school authorities to join forces with them to campaign against child marriages as it posed serious threats to the victims.

“Even for some of us who were married when we were mature, we still face challenges. Can you imagine a child being married off, the stress and mental agony she might face?”

Mrs Dorothy Kingsley-Nyinah, the Chairperson of the Bazaar Committee of the Club, said the campaign which would be organised in selected schools would take students through topics like: “How to Recognise the Signs of Mental Illness”, “What to Do When One Identifies Signs of Mental Illness on Him or Herself or a Close One” and “The Right Place to Seek Medical Intervention”.

In Ghana, people are not open to issues about mental health, therefore, the bazaar was to give people an opportunity to freely open up to the Club in a relaxed environment, she said.

Zonta International is headquartered in New York with a membership of 29,000 people in 63 countries across the world.

The vision of the Club is to ensure that women’s rights are regarded as human rights and that women have access to the facilities and potentials available for men.

Apart from the Zonta Club of Accra Metropolitan, the INGO also has the Accra Club, Accra II Club, Tema Club, and the E-Club in Ghana.