We went to meet with some youth from the local villages. We went with the ACCESS Outreach team with the hopes of meeting with a group of young adults to discuss family planning and what types of programs the younger people would like to see offered by ACCESS. We met at one of the local schools and about 10 young adults came to discuss their ideas.
We learned that many young people are getting into Agri-business here in Uganda: Farming small plots and selling the harvest to help support the family. These young people expressed wanting help getting money to start their businesses and getting to the larger Capital city of Kampala to sell their crops for higher prices than what they can sell for here in Nakasake.
When it comes to family planning there are so many myths that must be dispelled for many of the males and females to get on board with the idea. Here in Uganda 50% of the population is under 15yo. The goal is to educate young people to better plan their families, increase the time between pregnancies, and hopefully reduce the burden many families face with so many children and not enough resources.
From what we learned today, there is more work to be done in the community on both determining what the youth oriented program focus should be and dispelling more myths regarding family planning.
Hi Dee! I just discovered your blog and I am in love! I am currently attending AUC, and after reading your blog and your adventure, I'd love to go to ALL of the same clinical sites you've been to, including Uganda.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that there are more myths that need to be dispelled. Do you mind saying what kinds of myths exactly?