Young female entrepreneur and girl empowerment champion, Maria Johana Yuorpor, has extended best wishes to candidates who are currently sitting for this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) across the country.
She admonished them to be at their best, wishing them flying colors as they aspire to enter second cycle institutions to attain higher learning.
While wishing them best of luck in the ongoing examination, she hinted of engaging the young girls who will be graduating from the Junior High School in various skills sets training and pep talks across the various Districts of the Upper West Region under her Beautiful Smiles Project.
Under her Beautiful Smiles Project, the young enterprising entrepreneur has trained numerous in-school and out-of-school girls across the length and breadth of the Upper West Region who are currently living well by the skills set imparted.
This program aiming to train JHS leavers (girls) on skills and career development as well as life skills, would be undertaken across all districts in the region, barring unforeseen circumstances.
She said the purpose of the program is to keep the young girls engaged in productive ventures as they await entry into Senior High, Technical and Vocational schools.
The girl empowerment champion stated that the decision to undertake the project was informed by the need to reduce the rate at which girls from northern part of the country, of which the Upper West Region is not exceptional, move down south to engage largely in ‘Kayeye’ – head porting – and house maiden works.
Also CEO of Mara Foods and Mara Closets, Maria Yuorpor lamented that most of these girls do not usually return to continue their education and end up jeopardizing their life goals, ambitions and inherent talents.
Thus, she expressed optimism that, by motivating and training these young girls in some living-earning skills through the intended project, they would be engaged productively while at home.
She told Info Radio that, she was already in talks in some District and Municipal Chief Executives as well as Education Directors to foster collaborative means of getting all girls to benefit from the program.
Meanwhile, the 2021 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) started today, Monday, November 15, 2021 across designated centres in the country.
In the Upper West Region, a total of 14,585 candidates, comprising 7,328 girls and 7,258 boys, were expected to participate in the BECE in 56 centres across the region.
In the Wa Municipality, 3,825 candidates were expected to write the exams, 1,405 in the Jirapa Municipality; 917 in Lambussie District; 1,241 in Sissala East Municipality, 1,493 in the Wa West District and 464 in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District.
The rest were: Lawra Municipality 998, Nadowli-Kaleo District, 957, Nandom Municipality, 1,014, Sissala West District; 1,244 and Wa East District 1,027 candidates.