YEDI’s Efforts to bridge Sexual Reproductive Health Right Gaps among Teenagers

Oluchi Chibuzor, in this report writes about how The SKILLZ Holiday Camp (SHC) organized by Youth Development and Empowerment Initiative (YEDI) is changing youth’s perspective about Sexual Reproductive Health and Right (SRHR).

In Nigeria, discriminatory beliefs, practices, and stereotypes about adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), HIV, malaria, gender-based violence, and sexual abuse are prevalent in disadvantaged communities.

This situation is worsened by ill-equipped parents, often living in abject poverty and ignorance, who typically lack requisite knowledge and understanding of adolescent parent-child communication on ASRH, and life-coping skills development, therefore resorting to defensiveness and denial of the need for such support by their adolescents.

To address these gaps, there is a need for targeted interventions for adolescents within these communities to provide them with comprehensive and accurate information on their life and health skills, while correcting other stereotypes and misconceptions that affect the ability of adolescents to make positive life decisions.

Similarly, the long holiday season is a high-risk period for young people in these communities, as they often have little supervision and few opportunities for structured activities.

The SHC is therefore structured as a weeklong, intensive non-residential adolescent camp experience that provides a safe space and competent mentoring to build positive life skills and foster healthy behaviours among the adolescent participants aged between 10 to 19.

Over the years, YEDI’s SKILLZ Holiday Camp has reached and equipped 100,000 adolescents in Nigeria with requisite life-coping knowledge and skills training on SRH, HIV/ malaria prevention and leadership skills to support their transition into adulthood.

This year, YEDI is reaching out to adolescents in underserved communities in Lagos, Akwa Ibom, and the Federal Capital Territory with major activities including a pre-event advocacy, Community sensitisation and mobilisation, and a five-day camping.

Speaking at the just concluded SHC, the Executive Director, YEDI, Tomisin Adeoye, said the organization empowers and educated young people from the community’s proven approach developed by their technical experts.

According to her, “We use the Grassrootsoccer SKILLZ approach to reach out to these young people in schools and communities. This particular time during the holiday period, young people have a lot of free time and we engage them with positive things.

“For this camp, we have SKILLZ boys and SKILLZ girls camp – it is a gender specific programme, reaching out to young people from ages 13 -18, by using a proven curriculum in sexual reproductive health, self hygiene, and different things.

“We have trained coaches that serve as trainers and mentors having been trained to effectively engage adolescents. These coaches are like peer educators ranging from 18 to 28 and they reach out to young people so that it is somewhere near their age and can pass across the information we have for them. We know the young people do not have access to accurate information about their sexual reproductive health, HIV, Malaria, and different life skills.”

Despite the noble efforts of the NGO, it is not immune from financial challenges to deepen their outreach, she acknowledged their predicament of funds in reaching more youths across the country.

For her also, beyond funds, “we have government support, but getting safe spaces in the communities is a challenge because sometimes, touts can come demanding “something”.

“But everywhere we are always welcome because we contribute positively to their community. For example we have a parent coming to donate water and by the time we leave any community they always want us to come back.

Speaking to the programs manager, YEDI, Asanga Usen says, the organization uses football as an entry point to get to young people because of their interest in the game.

“Essentially, what happens here is that because we know young people love football, we know it is something that would attract them and keep their attention. So we used the opportunity to teach them life skills, especially to enable them to make informed decisions about their lives and bodies; and then prepare them for a more responsible adulthood.”

Commending their funders, he noted that “You know developing a project like this and working with young people, you need parental consent because young some people still feel young people should not learn about their sexuality.

On her part, the out-of-school coordinator, YEDI, Damilola Isimijola, in order to catch them young, it is better to get them informed with the right information at their tender age. She noted that It is good for parents to know the importance of right sex education for children before they grow into adulthood.

“So coming to this environment we targeted the young ones, because when you pass information through them it moves faster; parents are busy doing other things and our participants absorb information faster. When you give it to one person they have their friends to talk to, although you might not be able to reach all the adolescents in this environment , but they have schools they visit, teachers and friends.”

Giving praise to YEDI impact in their community, Mrs. Hope Clarkson, said the advantage of the program to children is helping them with exposure and making them better people.

“The programme will help them to discover themselves more and help them to understand their social values, set standards and what they can achieve in life.”

Narrating her experience during the five-day holiday programme, Emmanuella Oniovosa, said, “Firstly, I learned how to make choices, I learned there are treatments for HIV using ARV and that a girl should always define her relationship before they get into one. I also learned things she should know when she gets into one. She should check if she is emotionally, physically and financially strong.”

For another participant, Tamilore Adeyemo, she learned that she does not need anybody’s validation on her beauty.

“I know that I am already beautiful as I am now and I know different types of abuse in case when people abuse me or anyone else is being abused. With the programme I know where to go or who to talk to.”

The SKILLZ Holiday Camp is supported by Grassrootsoccer, Exxon Mobil, ACT Foundation, and FIFA Foundation across the four implementing states.