09 February 2010
For counsellor Rugiatu Koroma there has been a tangible change in the young people of his district in Sierra Leone, “I can sense a change in the behaviour and lives of many young people in the Makali Township where I live, thanks to Student Partnership Worldwide's intervention.".
With DFID support, Students Partnership Worldwide and their Youth Reproductive Health Programme (YRHP) have been tackling youth exclusion and HIV and AIDS in ten districts of Sierra Leone.
YRHP trains local volunteers aged 18-28 as peer educators, once trained they are sent on an eight-month placement to a rural community. These placements have created a network of peer educators that on a weekly basis reach 30,000 young people in schools and 15,000 young people out of school.
Targeted communities covered by the programme are now witnessing the benefits, such as:
- A 37% fall in the teenage pregnancy rate
- A rise in knowledge of sexual and reproductive health issues to 75% of young people
- Over 700 young people organising events in their communities to raise awareness of youth development issues
- Young people now sitting on decision making bodies to spearhead youth development in 63 communities.
Rugiatu Koroma again attests to these changes “We are all aware of how many young people in Sierra Leone have benefited from their programmes.”
And on 1 November 2009 national African Youth Day provided a chance for all to celebrate the progress being made by Sierra Leone’s young people.
The theme for this year’s celebrations was productive youth for stability and economic development. It was attended by young people, policy makers and the Minister for Education, Youth and Sports.
DFID has been supporting youth development programmes, such as YRHP, in Sierra Leone since 2005. These programmes continue to prove that, given the right training and support, young people are able to take a leading role in the development of their communities.