Sexual education course
For the teens to make right sexual and reproductive health decisions, it starts with giving them the right information and building their self-esteem.
On 9th 05. 2021, we held our very first sex education class with the elder children between the ages of 13-17 years lead by Vicky, Kayita Innocent and Miss Deborah Nakatudde from SLUM (Serving Lives Under Marginalization).
Before, when counselors were talking about sex education to the children, they would separate boys from girls, but these days it is so common that kids are made to sit in one group and learn everything together, that is what we also did.
In the first session the kids were really cold, they were feeling shy and not confident to ask or answer the questions asked by counselors, that is when we came up with some icebreakers to boost their confidence and it really worked.
Each child was give a notebook and asked to write what they were expecting to learn and then at the end of the session, they were asked to write what they learned, what they would want to learn in the near future and what they did not like during the learning, and these are noted below.
Expectations before the learning
- How abortion affects girls apart from death
- Why one receives pains during menstrual periods
- How adolescents can prevent unwanted pregnancies since they are not advised to use family planning
- Why is sex said to be bad for adolescents yet adults have it
- What is love and how can one enjoy it as an adolescent
- To know about how one can protect oneself from getting HIV?
- How to have and build a health relationship between friends and family members
- How do you tell that someone loves and or just a friend?
- How can I have a relationship without getting pregnant?
- I strongly want to keep my relationship but still continue with school, how can you help me?
- Is it normal for one to urinate frequently and or have pain while urinating?
What they learnt
How to have health relationships that do not put young people at risk
- If adolescents do not control their sexual-feelings they might end up practicing masturbation.
- How to ensure proper hygiene as adolescents to avoid bad odor and urinary tract infections (UTIs).
- Things to engage in for adolescents to fight their sexual desires.
- One controls one’s body but not the body to control them.
- Effects of teenage pregnancies
- How to have healthy relationships with parents and relatives so as to share what could be challenging me as an adolescent.
- Sexually transmitted infections
- The medical ways to prevent HIV using PEP and PrEP
- How to associate with people during sessions
What they would like to learn in the next sessions.
- If it is normal for girls to have their periods more than two weeks
- I want to learn about self esteem
- How to set goals and stick to them
- How can one stay healthy with HIV but not on treatment?
- Detailed information about sexually transmitted infections
- How to control stress and temper
- Income generating skills
- How to behave in public (etiquettes)
- About condoms as measure of controlling pregnancy and STIs
What they did not like about the session
- I have not liked people laughing at others while giving their opinions
- The weather disturbed us yet the sessions were good from outside
- People talking bad about me
Pictures
- picture shows the morning session and the kids were warming up.
- picture shows some of the kids noting down their feedback on how the session was.
- after the whole session.
- some of the kids are going back to their respective homes after the session, this is the road coming from the office to the main road where they took taxis to their homes.
