The Deeper Life Church has organised a retreat for its members here, to educate them on the need to pay special attention to the upbringing of children,especially their education on the theme ‘Power for the Present Hour.’
It was attended by 484 parents, children and youth groups of the church in the Nkwanta North District.
The National Children’s Coordinator of the Deeper Life Church, Pastor Douglas Okran, had observed that many parents paid little or no attention to the wellbeing of their wards, and stressed that child neglect was a contributory factor to many of the social problems confronting the country.
He noted that children were gifts from God and must be handled as such but unfortunately many parents did not appreciate and value their children, because some of them tend to pay more attention to their work and property such as cars and relegated the children to the background.
Pastor Okran said after children had completed the Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS), some parents no longer pay attention to them and leave them to their fate.
He said this stress led to many of such children to go wayward, adding that research showed that 80 to 90 per cent of all teenage pregnancies and armed robbery were largely caused by parents.
The National Children’s Coordinator of the Deeper Life Church added that the research findings showed that children who did not get love in their families tried to find love outside and in the process, the females became pregnant while the males joined armed robbery groups due to lack of parental control.
He advised children to be obedient and take the teachings and guidance of their parents more seriously to enable them to have a brighter future, saying that it was important for the church, and other religious organisations to create an enabling environment for children to learn during church services and gatherings.
Pastor Okrannoted that the church was putting in its best to train children to become responsible adults, but lacked the needed support and appealed to the government to ensure that the Department of Children collaborated with the church and other religious organisations to support the education of children.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, KPASSA
