GITEGA September 4th (ABP) – The Burundi First Lady and chairperson of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OPDAD), Mrs. Angéline Ndayishimiye, moderated on Wednesday September 2, in Gitega (central Burundi), an awareness-raising workshop for schoolchildren on vacation in that province on wisdom, leadership, prevention and the fight against Coronavirus and AIDS. She also made young people aware of their undeniable role in promoting reproductive health for their better future.
That workshop, which was animated under the theme “No to bad behavior in favor of my better future”, was held in the large room of the Paramedical School of Gitega in the presence of many distinguished guests.
In his welcoming speech, the governor of Gitega, Mr. Venant Manirambona, indicated that the youth of that province is hard-working. However, he deplored the vagrancy behavior displayed by many young people, which has multiple consequences, in this case the increase in unwanted pregnancies, cases of contamination with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and AIDS.
By way of illustration, he indicated that Gitega province had 160 cases of unwanted pregnancies of girls in school during the 2019-2020 school year. He also deplored the negligence displayed by youngest people in respecting preventive measures against the Coronavirus, in particular at the level of greetings and distancing. He indicated that the various actors are continuing the campaign to prevent and fight COVID, in that case the systematic screening against that pandemic. Four positive cases of Coronavirus have already been diagnosed at the Gitega Regional Hospital
Center, all of which have been cured.
The First Lady of Burundi said she is holding that workshop as part of a series of others that she has already led in the provinces of Bujumbura City and Ngozi to give advice to young people on vacation that will allow them to ” adopt good behavior and better pursue their studies. They can also prepare to become future leaders, worthy of name. She thus invited young people to put forward human values, such as wisdom, respect for the life of others, dedication to studies and work, patriotism and clairvoyance to overcome the temptations of those who want to lead them to evil. She also called on young people not to be greedy for materialism, and to avoid sexual vagrancy which exposes them to various evils such as infection with STIs / AIDS, unwanted pregnancies and dropping out of school. She also advised young people to make rational use of new information technologies by avoiding their misuse for harmful purposes. Young people should also take an interest in associations to increase production for their economic empowerment as well as the development of their families, communities and countries. Mrs. Ndayishimiye said that the current government has provided support for innovative projects for young people.
The First Lady, for that purpose, invited young people in school to serve as a model in the implementation of preventive measures and to fight against the spread of the epidemic of Coronavirus. Those young people were invited to popularize the measures to fight the spread of COVID-19 among the pairs and people of their respective communities to win the bet of eradicating the Coronavirus and other diseases. The expected result is to educate young people who are clairvoyant and committed to becoming future parents and responsible adults, said Mrs. Ndayishimiye.