OLA SHS hosts Summer Camp for Girls Senior High Schools

Cross Section of Participants

About 600 girls from all 38 Girls Senior High Schools in the country have converged at OLA Senior High School in Ho to participate in the 2015 summer camp.

The annual camp, instituted by the Forum of Heads of Girls Senior High School (FOHGSHS) in 2007, is to provide a platform for the students to interact and deliberate on issues of common interest.

Some of  the schools include,  Wesley Girls SHS, St. Louis SHS, Aburi Girls SHS, Mfantsiman Girls, Bolga Girls SHS, St. Mary's Girls SHS, E.P Mawuko Girls SHS, Gambaga Girls SHS, Tamale Girls SHS, Islamic Girls SHS, Krobo Girls SHS, Ahantanman Girls SHS, among others.

President  of the forum and headmistress of Wesley Girls Senior High School in Cape Coast, Mrs. Betty Dzokoto, said, FOHGSHS through the annual camps,  is committed to training high calibre of ladies who will break new grounds by empowering  young girls to break the socio-cultural barriers which militates against  their holistic  growth and development.

The one week camp programme, which is themed, ‘the cyber menace’, will engage the young girls in brainstorming the rudiments on the use of the cyber space and its associated dangers to users.

Members of FOHGSHS

Opening  the camp on Tuesday, the Minister of Education, Prof. Jane Naana Opku-Agyemang entreated the participants to make maximum use of the opportunity to enrich their knowledge in the use  Information and Communication Technology era, which has become the game changer in this 21st century.

She also condemned the recent spate of vandalism involving SHS students and urged them to be disciplined in order to be successful in their chosen endeavors.

The Volta regional minister, Helen Adjoa Ntoso on her part, lauded the organizers of the camp for coming up with such an initiative which will empower and encourage young girls to aspire higher.

She bemoaned the less participation of women in national politics and governance but expressed optimism that, camps of this nature will boost the confidence level of young girls and groomed them for leadership, stressing that “If women are in leadership, this nation will progress steadily.”

In a speech read on behalf of the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, urged young people to eschew the use of ICT and the Internet for negative activities such as ‘sakawa’ and pornography. But rather use them productively in order to improve their lives, as envisage by its promulgators.

The opening ceremony was preceded by a brief but colourful guard of honour parade by the naval cadet corps of the OLA SHS.

Prof. Naana Opoku-Agyemang (M), flanked by headmistresses of OLA SHS  (L) & Wesley Girls (R)