De Joven a joven (From Youth to Youth)
En the rural areas of the state of Morelos, children receive very little sexual education. As a result, this area suffers from high rates of adolescent pregnancy and STDs. During the last three years, De Joven a Joven has trained peer educators to address this problem. Teenagers learn how to teach their peers about sex and sexual health, then spend a year moving from town to town, giving classes in local public schools.
The peer educators (almost all of whom have been girls, though the program hopes to include boys as well), are trained in four subjects: adolescent sexuality, STDs, contraception, and prevention of sexual abuse. In the schools, they enact theater, run workshops, and speak with children and adolescents one on one. They also give talks to women’s groups, a project not originally planned, but which has had great results with an underserved population.
Each year, 12 educators participate. Over the year, they provide 60 programs in 15 different schools, reaching some 1800 children, and 12 programs for some 1200 women. No other program in Morelos has had such an impact. Through a contract with the state, De Joven a Joven is able to pay each educator a US $100/ month stipend.
In the future, De Joven a Joven hopes to expand the program to other communities and to increase the stipend, so that the educators need not take a second job. The program is also looking for support from corporations, and hopes to expand its small publishing house.
De Joven a Joven is affiliated with Padres Cariñosos
De Joven a Joven
contact: Hugo Rocha <hrocha@colmex.mx>
