INSTITUTE APPRORIATE COUNSELLING FOR YOUTH — OFOSU-ASAMOAH (PAGE 39)

Story: Nana Yaw Konadu, Koforidua

THE Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Ofosu-Asamoah, has called for the institution of appropriate counselling and training for the youth to enable them to make an informed decision in their formative years.
Such a move, he said, would also help them to develop their talents to become useful citizens in order to occupy responsible positions in the future.
At this year's World Youth Day and Vocation Week celebration at Koforidua at the weekend, Mr Asamoah stated that "for any nation to make steady progress, attention should be paid to the development of the youth for them to become useful citizens in the future.
The event, on the theme: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1;8)," brought together about 150 youth from branches of the Catholic Church in the Eastern Region.
The deputy regional minister said the socio-economic development of every nation depended much on its human resource, a situation which made the youth in every nation to be recognised as pivotal in its development.
He said in recognition of that, the government decided to implement various initiatives, such as the School Feeding Programme, the Captivation Grant and the new educational reform, to give every child of school age access to quality education.
According to Mr Ofosu-Asamoah, as part of efforts to support vocational and technical education in the country, the government had established microcredit schemes to help products of such institutions to get into various income-generating ventures after school.
Mr Ofosu-Asamoah bemoaned the rate of indiscipline among the youth in the country and urged them to shun all acts of indiscipline, such as harassing authorities, pre-marital sex, vandalising school and public property, environmental degradation and drug abuse.
"This is because when you indulge in such acts, they will retard your progress and that of the nation," he added, and called on stakeholders in the development of the youth, including parents, guardians, teachers and opinion leaders, to be role models for the youth to emulate them.
Mr Ofosu-Asamoah advised the youth who had attained 18 years of age to register when the voters register reopened in May, this year.
He also entreated them not to allow themselves to be exploited by politicians during their campaigns to achieve their selfish gains.
The National Youth Chaplain of the Catholic Church, Father Charles Poku, admonished the youth to dedicate their youthful days to the service of the church to enable them to win souls for Christ.
He said in order to achieve their future ambitions, they must avail themselves of the guidance and teaching of the Bible, stressing, "without God, you cannot realise your dreams in life".