The teenagers: how can you help?

There is a psychological law of reciprocity that says, “If you make me feel good

about myself, I will find a way to make you feel good about yourself.” In other words, people will always look for ways to reciprocate your kindnesses towards them.

This is what Teen Age Build (TAB)-Ghana, Non-Profit Organisation stands for. TAB’s mission is to shape and direct the focus, goal and ability of teenagers through consistent and continual reliable activities that will help them abreast the possibility of living a truly fulfilled life.

The greatest priority of TAB is to assist our teenagers realize their dreams, potentials, aspirations and ambitions.

There’s no way one could climb the ladder of success with his/her hands in the pocket. Your guess is as good as mine! Hence, TAB exists to performing that vital role by making sure that our teenagers’ climb the ladder of success without putting their hands in their pocket. TAB believes our teenagers can only reach the apex of the ladder of success if they are well and carefully monitored when they are doing the climbing thus when pursuing success.



Besides, most of our teenagers have been brainwashed by some societal mishaps to belittle themselves. But, TAB, views this in a different angle. The Teen Age Build organisation which believes in the dreams of our teenagers’ is of the view that, with faith in our teenagers brings with it, the reward of success. As NGO which also exists to strengthen and motivate the teenagers psychologically and physically keeps on trumpeting this to our teenagers “do not belittle yourself in any way for within you lie untapped potentials, untapped duties and unusual energy.” TAB strongly believes that the key for our teenagers to unlock these virtues lie in believing in themselves.



It is also an unequivocal fact that there is nobody in Ghana today who has lost sight over the trend of our teenagers and issues affecting them. For many, the least said about it the better.

Our BECE and WASSCE results leave much to be desired. Figures from WAEC show that the pass rate of students who sat for the BECE has been on a constant downward decline since 2009. The 2011 results of the BECE students have been the worst in 13 years since 1998 as the base year with 46.93% of students achieving a pass rate and thus being eligible for placement into SHS. So one may ask; ‘where are the unqualified-and-not-placed students?’ Indeed their future is doomed to a bleak future of uncertainty with dangerous national security ramification for the Country in the near future.

The situation isn’t different at the second cycle institutions. Many complete and are only left into the mercy of countless NOV/DEC. re-sits. At times, the concomitance of this is the skyrocketed social vices in our country.

Teenage pregnancy has deprived many teenage girls and their wards of quality education and many turn to be dependents on their family and the nation at large. It is not surprising that as of 2011, the age dependency ratio (% of the working-age population) was 73.23%. According to the World Bank index, the value for this indicator has fluctuated between 95.38 in 1976 and 73.23 in 2011. Indeed teenagers’ inability to continue with their education added up to the mess we have found ourselves in as a nation.

Societal values have been swept under the carpet by the teens with great impunity. We see this reflecting in their dressings, talks and other ways. Immorality is eating deep into the social fabrics of the teenagers increasing the rate of STDs with no thought of any prolong impact on them. Homosexuality is at a faster rate extending its tentacles to teenagers with the Senior High schools being the hub. September 21, 2013 headline story; on myjoyonline.com “12 years old prostitute arrested in Kumasi, charges GHC 5.00 per round”, this and many such diabolic acts of our teenagers must awake our consciousness to the issue of child prostitution among teenagers. Homosexuality and lesbianism now seems to be part of the extra curriculum activities of our schools. Are these schools now nurturing gays and lesbians in schools? What a shame!

As a nation we cannot continue to be good at identifying our problems without providing any solutions to these problems. Many of these things are happening to our teenagers because of misplaced priorities. Many do not know what they want from life. Most have no master plan for their lives and therefore anywhere the road/path leads to they are ready to go through it. Most have not got any destination in mind and as such every place becomes one. And this is the situation majorities of our teenagers found themselves in. Life without any goal/aim is like a bird with broken wings that can’t fly.

I was cut to the heart when a pupil of JHS 3 said; “Sir, I don’t know” as an answer to what she will like to be in the future. This was a teenage girl who came to the sister to choose a course for her to complete her candidate registration form. It is so obvious that for this girl, all that matters to her is to get to the secondary school and not what she is going to do there. And when such a person gets to the SHS you can imagine what she will do. This is lack of vision and clear goal in life.

It is high time we guided our teenagers to set achievable goals and inspire them to such dream realization. With this and godly value inculcated in them, I strongly believe a headway can be made. These are things TAB is out there to achieve in our teenagers.

Our mission is to shape and direct the focus, goal and ability of teenagers through consistent and continual reliable activities that will help them abreast the possibility of living a true fulfilled life.

But, TAB cannot fully help shape and also direct the focus, goal and potentials of our teenagers through consistent and continual reliable activities without the public support. Hence, TAB deems it fit to request support from the general public.

www.teenagebuild.webs.com

Facebook: Teen Age Build (TAB)-Ghana

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Hohoe

Email:[email protected]

Tel: +233247265478