The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has urged mothers in Ebonyi to address poor parent-child communication with their children.

Elizabeth Okereke, a master trainer at UNESCO, gave the advice on Tuesday during the 2024 women’s August meeting in Onuebonyi Echara in the Ikwo Local Government Area of the state.

Ms Okereke also appealed to parents to bring their out-of-school children to be reintegrated back into school.

She said the organisation, in collaboration with the state government, would help reintegrate out-of-school teenage mothers to address barriers that children and families faced in accessing education.

She said, “We discovered that the problem teenagers have is poor parent-child communication which could lead them to the wrong people or information from unsafe adults.

“In our first capturing and enrollment of these children at Afikpo LGA, we observed that most of them are intelligent and smart teenage mothers.

“But their parents, out of anger, pushed them out to suffer or hawking on the streets with their babies.”

Ms Okereke said this was why UNESCO decided to use the August meeting to sensitise mothers on the need to relate, talk and reintegrate their children into school to save them from harm.

In her speech, Mary-Maudline Nwifuru, the state governor’s wife, charged the women to utilise the benefits of the lessons and teachings from the gatherings to better their families and society.

Mrs Nwifuru, represented by Stella Okoro-emegha, urged women to adhere to the main idea behind the August meeting.

(NAN)