French Embassy assists Darlings Vocational Centre

THE Head of Co-operation at the French Embassy, Mr Arnaud Dornon, has inaugurated a number of projects for Darlings Vocational Centre at Amanfro II in the Agona East District in the Central Region.
The projects include a three-unit classroom block with an office and a store, a hostel, a livestock farming project and a solar energy system.
The €60,000 projects were funded from the Social Development Fund of the French Embassy.
In an address, Mr Dornon pledged the continued support of his organisation in providing facilities that would improve the lives of the underprivileged in society.
The Executive Director of Darlings Human Development Foundation (DHDF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ms Comfort Ayisibea Tetteh, said the NGO was committed to helping the vulnerable in society.
She stated that the centre which started in 2003 with five women, currently had a population of 38 students comprising teenage mothers, orphans and deprived ladies drawn from 14 communities in the district.
Ms Tetteh said following the school dropout rate in the area, her outfit decided to offer free tuition, provide accommodation and lunch in order to retain the girls at the centre to provide them with employable skills.
She noted with satisfaction that the first batch of 12 students who were presented for the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) examination in 2006 passed with distinction, encouraging more girls within and outside the district to seek admission at the centre.
That challenge, according to her, compelled the DHDF to present a proposal to the French Embassy for assistance to expand the facilities at the centre.
While commending the French Embassy for the support, the executive director called on the Agona East District Assembly to honour its part by providing the centre with furniture.
She reiterated the commitment of her organisation to partner the centre to ensure that the less fortunate people in society received the needed vocational skills to improve their living standards and “to erase the impression in the minds of some men in the area that the office of a woman is the kitchen”.
The Presiding Member of the Agona East District Assembly, Nana Ekow Ponsi, who represented the district chief executive, commended the NGO for complementing the government’s efforts to provide vocational education in the country.
He urged Ghanaians to disabuse their minds that vocational education was meant for school dropouts.
Nana Ponsi appealed to parents and teachers in the area to contribute towards ensuring academic excellence.