1.What you want to do and why?

 

It is my vision to establish THE COMMUNITY YOUTH- FRIENDLY CENTRE PROJECT: GHANA

In Sub-Sahara Africa today that I come from HIV/AIDS is destroying and killing people more than what civil strikes and wars can do. The majority of the people that are affected are the youth since they form the majority of the people of the region. Therefore, the issue of HIV/AIDS should be given the maximum attention  and the eed evelop new modalities of addressing the issue.

 

The project seeks to educate the youth on issues affecting their health so as to bring about an attitudinal change on matters related to their sexual and reproductive health including HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STI), prostitution, alcohol and drug abuse.  This is a favoured strategy of many new HIV/AIDS prevention interventions because the young people will engage in recruitments, management, monitoring,  and evaluation of the Youth-Friendly Centre.

The  pro-poor youth will be the main targets  since existing interventions are mainly located in the urban areas.

 

a. The key objective you hope to achieve  

 

-To improve upon the empowerment and advocacy capabilities of the youth by involving them in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of interventions that affect them .

-To create a forum to enable the youth to exchange ideas and information on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health issues

-To increase awareness of the youth in matters relating to their Adolescent Sexual Health and Reproductive Health (ASRH) and Sexually Transmitted Infections so as to bring about a behavioural change in the youth on such matters.

-To influence and assist other youth service organisations to address matters affecting the youth in pro-poor communities

-The project will also provide the community in respect  a facilitate where they can access information,research centre and for recreational purposes.

 

b. Who your project will impact and how?

 

The project seeks to bring about behavioural and attitudinal changes in the youth on matters relating to reproductive health. The project will achieve this by having the youth as the main stakeholders, collaborators as well as the beneficiaries. The youth shall be actively involved at all levels of project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The youth between the ages of 16 and 24shall be the hub around which the spokes of the wheels of the project shall revolve. They will be made to account for their own experiences as the project impact on them. The project will focus more on in-school as well as out-of-school youth in  pro-poor rural communities.

 

The project will also impact on other stakeholders including community-based organisations, development partners, government and non-governmental organisations  

 

c. Explain how it fills a gap, solves problem, develops a skill or talent or builds on an opportunity.

 

-Most youth service organisations focus on HIV/AIDS and Sexual Reproductive Health issues in urban areas. To some extent, the youth are not involved in policy formulation and implementation of issues that affect them.

 

Inputs by the youth can help ensure that programs are relevant to their needs and aspirations. Assessing the needs of the target audience is crucial to the development of this project. It is perhaps more desirable with programs for young people because of the importance of generational differences in styles, language, values and culture. Therefore, for information to effectively reach the youth, it must be expressed in a familiar language,  trusted spokespeople and through a media they use and consider as reliable. The project will seek to address these issues and ensure that young people are allowed in identifying, and pre-testing messages to suit different age groups, sex, literacy levels, language or dialect, and relevant components of socio-economic status of the community.

 

The  project will  also involve in outreach progrrammes  and campaigns against dicrimination and stigmatisation of AIDS victims.

d. What resources do you feel are most essential to your project?

 

As a reproductive health project that essentially will involve the youth as peer educators, counsellors and managing the affairs of the youth-friendly centre. the youth will require special skill training as health facilitators, collaborators and administrators to take up these challenges.

-Additional financial resources will be needed to support youth involvement efforts such as transportation and organisational cost.

-The centre will require information technology equipment,infrasture development facilities, resource materials for research, to facilitate in the instanteneuos global communication between the youth in other countries.

 

 

2.Could youth from other parts of the world help in solutions to your community concerns and if so, how?

 

 In this era of instantaneous global communication technologies, the use of the Internet and other technological devices  will help create a global platform for exchange of ideas and information. One form of involvement that can be offered is E-monitoring. It will set up opportunities for the youth from other part of the globe to share experiences, examine their problems, set priorities and explore solutions, evaluate and refine them and spread them around.

 

3.How did you hear about the pilot project?

The inaugural pilot project was communicated to me through World Federation of the United Nations- Youth (WFUNA-YOUTH) forum at yahoo groups.