A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Life Again, is helping about 20 out of 100 empowered teen mothers to return to school.

Reports reaching JoyNews indicate that a total of 687 girls in the Upper West Region returned to school pregnant as of May 2021, when schools reopened after the government announced a shutdown in March 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

Chief Executive Officer of Life Again, Saudatu Mohammed said the group is keen in ensuring that these young mothers receive the help needed, adding that those who wish to school after birth will be supported.

"Last year, Covid-19 hit us and we saw that a lot of girls became pregnant. According to statistics, we have about 110,000 girls between the ages of 10 to 19 years who became pregnant. Most of these girls dropped out of school.

"In the Upper West Region here, we have close to 4,000 girls and for me, I believe this is a reduced figure because these are girls who have visited the health facilities and they got recorded by the Ghana Health Service. There are a lot of girls in the rural areas who are pregnant or have given birth during this period but were not visiting the centres."

"We are all about ensuring that these girls are empowered and it is not a one time support. Every year we come and suport these girls to stay in school," she insisted.

According to her, "we have a number of girls who say they want to go back to school even after giving birth and we are giving them comprehensive scholarships to head back to school. We are going to give them schools materials to help them stay in school."

In March this year, the NGO, launched a campaign to support teen mothers with skills and training to help generate income to take care of themselves and those who wish to go back to school.

On their part, the beneficiaries signed a contract not be get pregnant whiles in school. They also expressed joy over the kind gesture and pledged not to disappoint as they focus on their studies.

Also, two of the teen mothers who spoke with JoyNews narrated how they managed to fend for themselves after the fathers of the children abandoned them.

"He wasn't even my boyfriend. He forced me and that was my first time too. Tried my best but he did not accept it. Right now, I'm staying with my father and he is taking good care of me. He provides me with everything I need.

"I dropped out of school when I was five months pregnant. I have been at home since. I'm now in my eighth month. The male who got me pregnant denied it so my father took me in," one said.