60 VIRGIN CLUBS FOR ASHANTI

Accra

The Centre for Moral Education (CEMED), an NGO aimed at 'instilling moral
values and discipline in the youth", is to form about 60 virgins and
drug-free clubs in the Ashanti Region by the end of this year.

Mr. Opoku-Agyemang Prempeh, Executive President of the CEMED said already
20 of the clubs have been formed in the region.

Mr. Prempeh was speaking at an emergency meeting of Executives of the CEMED
held in Kumasi to assess their performance for the first quarter of the year.

It was also to create a platform for the Executives to devise more
pragmatic strategies for implementation of CEMED programmes.

The virgins clubs are made of young girls who have not as yet broken their
virginity and also opened to those who have engaged in sex before but have
now denounced the practice and have decided to stay away from it until
marriage.

The drug-free clubs on the other hand, are composed of young people who
were hard in drugs before and those who have never tasted them and now
decided to devote their time to educating people on the dangers of hard drugs.

Mr. Prempeh said the clubs would initially be formed at the basic schools
and tertiary institutions after which they would then be extended to the
local communities.

He urged the youth to take advantage of programmes being organised by the
CEMED to enable them to have greater knowledge of HIV/AIDS and help them to
enlighten their peers about the destructive nature of the menace.