Mamaga Dewotornyo Agoe I, the supreme queen of the traditional area of Gbi, Hohoe, has unveiled her intention to establish the Agoe Skills Academy to provide training and employment opportunities for young people in and around the region.
She said the multi-faceted training and rehabilitation institute would be established at the Gbi land, for the municipality of Hohoe in the Volta region.
At a ceremony to mark its first anniversary of training and to launch its initiatives, Mamaga Agoe said the academy would have a hostel, teachers’ quarters, a library, a canteen and a community center.
This would take advantage of the community’s natural gifts, both tangible and intangible, God-given talents and physical resources.
“Agoe Skills Academy will take full advantage of the digital age and combine new technologies and traditional ideas to provide a wide range of innovative learning options for disadvantaged young people and school dropouts,” she said. .
“Those who have been unable to continue their education and the many drug addicts, including alcohol, who face serious challenges for their future will have something to lean on.”
Mamaga Agoe said that beyond skills development, the academy would train enrollees in community-oriented programs to improve mindsets, appreciate cultural heritage and uphold values, as many issues faced by young people were psychological.
Since her focus was largely interventional, the programs would include motivational and counseling sessions, she said.
The academy was fully registered and granted its certificate of incorporation and a temporary facility was loaned to Gbi to accelerate the vocational training program while partnerships for the construction of a permanent facility were underway.
She called on potential investors to join them in “building and saving”, adding that “my foundation, the Dewortonyo Agoe Foundation, is fully registered and licensed by the Government of Ghana to operate.”
Mamaga Agoe noted that all over the world, women are taking up the challenge of nation building by contributing in various ways.
She noted that young people were the future leaders of every community and that young people were the building blocks of a healthy society.
The Queen said issues affecting young people cannot and should not be seen as theirs and their families’ alone.
“The issues facing young people affect the whole community and need to be addressed with the urgency they need. Parents and mainstream education systems, even governments, can do little. “
Reverend Dr. Patrick Nicanda Kodzo Allala, Chairman of the Board of the Dewotornyo Agoe Foundation, said the academy would be of immense help for young people to learn skills and be able to employ others. , which would lead to a reduction of social vices due to unemployment.
He called on everyone to support the initiative and work hard for its growth.
Dr Bernice Adiku-Heloo, former MP for Hohoe, noted that learning was one of the main ways
young people could improve.
She urged them to seize the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to help them grow.
