In this community, the youth in general had several
problems before AFOD-Uganda came in. Of course we had other organizations working in with various kinds of programmes but the issues that were troubling youths continued. Our major problems were that we did not have courage, knowledge and access to information and services that are related to STIs, HIV/AIDS prevention, pregnancy prevention and other diseases. The youth lacked knowledge on Sexual Reproductive Health and many indulged in sexual activities and always
ended up with teenage pregnancies and STI infections. As a result of this, we had so
many school dropouts, many cases of teenage pregnancies and STIs in this community. In 2016 we heard of the good news that an organization called AFOD-Uganda was in the District implementing a project that is directly linked to the youths. We were happy to note that the project was coming for the youth. The youth were trained on peer and life skills education and psychosocial counseling.
Many of the youth in the community got involved in the activities and this inspired us. School children were also involved and these
activities were integrated into the school programmes. This created an excitement among the youths at school and in the community. The parents began to support us and gave us permission to train and participate in our activities.
The project brought a number of changes to our lives; some children who had
dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy and early marriage re-enrolled in schools.
Community dialogue for the Adolescents in Mireyi during the interview
Through the
various trainings, the community also ended up with more knowledge about SRH and even HIV/AIDS. The behavior amongst us changed quite significantly. The youths in this community began
working together and doing many activities as one community which was very rare before. We became confident in demanding for information and services from the health facilities. The youth in this community can now freely go and request for condoms, information and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Of all these changes we regard knowledge as the most significant. This is so because if we had not acquired this knowledge, we wouldn’t have gone anywhere. We can use this knowledge beyond the project life and pass it on to the next generation. Knowledge brings confidence and helps us to make informed decisions about our sexual lives. We wish to continue with the good behaviour that we have acquired and protect ourselves from preventable pitfalls.
According to one tearful youth called Abio she narrates with her voice filled with emotions, “I have endured hardships, at the age of 19, I have two daughters aged four and two. Like most young people, I had dreams for the future but these were shattered when my parents forced me to get married at an early age, I did not know anything about condoms, learning about condom use from AFOD will help me protect myself, I will not have children again until I get a job that can sustain me” she says…. this knowledge I have acquired will be of great help to me forever”
Through AFODs intervention, Abio is continuously receiving information on family planning from AFOD staff.
