Electricaid Project of the Month

'For Us – Young People' Sexual Health in rural Peru

Project por Nosotros – Los Jóvenes, or 'For Us – Young People', was set up in January 2008 by Health Unlimited (UK) in Peru. The aim of the project was to improve the sexual and reproductive health of the youth population in Huanta Province, Ayacucho and Satipo Province, Junin, in Peru and its aim is to educate them about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and how they can be prevented. The innovative approach, which was ground-breaking in a conservative and traditional society, was to work for young people through the empowerment, training and employment of young people.

In order to achieve this, adolescents, children and Community Health Agents were trained in HIV/AIDS/STD prevention. Radio spots were also recorded with the participation of young people to spread the word about STDs and how they can be prevented. In addition to this, a pamphlet was produced containing the most up-to-date and accurate information available about sexual and reproductive health, with youth-focused illustrations in order to capture the attention of the young people in Satipo and Ayacucho. It is intended that this pamphlet will be published in the near future and distributed in the two provinces.

Further presentations, workshops and an information fair are also planned. The project has already achieved a substantial amount. Eddy, a 17-year-old girl from Satipo, is motivated about her new role as a Community Health Agent (CHA). "It is important for us, as CHAs to continue the work of reinforcing our own knowledge on health topics," she says. "We can then take those back to our communities. If we learn the terms, concepts and teaching methods well, it will be much easier to transmit them to our audience."

The project is an ongoing concern. Creating initial awareness was the first hurdle to overcome, and that has been successfully completed. ElectricAid's €9,500 grant has enabled agents like Eddy to be able to deal with sexual health issues in Peru and to ultimately save the lives of generations to come. "Thanks to this training I will be more informed on recognising when someone has an infection and with more confidence, be able to refer them to the community health centre," says Eddy.

Your money has empowered the young population of Satipo and Ayacucho to improve their health and provided invaluable education on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Ignorance is the real enemy, and in many cases, an ounce of prevention can do more than a ton of treatment.