Students and inmates of the Agona Swedru Junior Boys Correctional and National Vocational Training Centre in Central Region were excited when Tigo Ghana visited the facility for a mentorship session on Friday October 26, 2012 as part of its 'Tigo Day Out' initiative.
The 'Tigo Day Out' programme is a partnership with the Child Resource and Research Centre (an NGO). It is an integral part of Tigo's CSR strategies geared towards putting smiles on the faces of the marginalized and less-privileged in society.
Welcoming the team to the Centre, Mr. B. B. Bananzi, Principal of the School, stated that the objective of the Centre was to protect and promote the rights of the vulnerable children and help shape them into better persons. The Centre also provides vocational skills training for youth who are out of school."
The Centre has a total of eleven juveniles serving sentences ranging from three months to three years for various offences including defilement and stealing. It also runs a vocational center offering skills acquisition in various disciplines for a student body of about four hundred (400) people.
In a short address, John Frimpong Armah, Central and Western Regional Territory Manager of Tigo said: "We at Tigo believe these inmates have dreams and we hope to help them nurture these dreams for a brighter future."
He reiterated Tigo's commitment to providing facilities will promote the welfare of children across the country."
Other staff members from Tigo took turns to share their life experiences with the inmates and encouraged them to keep faith in God and take their vocations seriously.
Addressing students and inmates of the facility, Executive Director of Child Resource and Research Centre, Susan Sabaa, advised them to choose their friends carefully and to avoid getting into trouble.
According to Susan Sabaa, research shows that most of the inmates were involved in social vices due to lack of parental control, broken homes and single parenting.
She further entreated parents, particularly fathers, "to take full responsibility for their children to avoid them falling into bad companies."
'Tigo Day Out' is a staff-driven Social Intervention pioneered by the leading telecommunication services provider and held on the last Friday of every month. It was last held at the Osu Senior Correctional Centre.