Gender empowerment
In 2018, we also worked with Plan International, this time with the aim of improving the future prospects of young people - and specifically girls - in Nueva Prosperina, a neighbourhood in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The challenge
Nueva Prosperina is one of Guayaquil's most deprived neighbourhoods. Although 54.4% of the city's inhabitants are under 18, there are hardly any opportunities for young people to come together and work towards a better future. For girls and young women, the situation is particularly worrisome. Sexual violence is common, leading to a high number of teenage pregnancies. Moreover, access to sexual and reproductive health care is limited, resulting in one in six Ecuadorian girls becoming mothers before her 19th birthday and one in five being married before the age of 18.
The approach
Together with local partners Plan International Ecuador and Juconi, Plan International and YOUCA took action to improve the prospects of girls and young women in Nueva Prosperina. We did this by forming six youth groups of 50 members between 15 and 19 years old. These young people united in pathways tailored to their communities with three common goals:
Sex education
- Promote and increase access to sex education and sexual and reproductive services for young people in their communities. Sample activities: sexual education in schools, actions to promote access to contraceptives, etc.
- Giving girls and young women the opportunity to participate in decisions affecting them in their communities. Example activities: meeting with local authorities, legislative proposals, school for women leaders, actions to raise social and environmental issues,...
- Getting young people, both boys and girls, to actively participate in a society where gender-based violence has no place. Sample activities: meetings with young people from the other youth clubs, peer education, training on positive masculinity,...
One of the participants Elina, 15 years old, says: "The project helps me to strengthen my voice, to be heard in the debate against women's violence and to talk about sexuality with my school friends without fear. I also like that I can talk openly to my mother about what I have learnt, even though I still have a lot to learn. I am a different person now, no longer shy, I can express myself in public, speak my mind and say what I think."
Discover Nueva Prosperina with our interactive project film!
Educational package
To deepen and make the YOUCA Action Day live widely in schools, we developed, together with Plan International, a curriculum around Ecuador, gender equality and sexual & reproductive rights. The lessons are suitable for different subjects, making YOUCA Action Day a school-wide concept.
