The parish of St. Thomas in the eastern end of the island of Jamaica has a problem that the SAIL-SRHR (Strengthening Access Inclusion and Leadership for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right) project being implemented by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) is trying to address. The problem is the high level of teenage pregnancy that is prevalent across the parish. Figures released by Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness showed that almost 10 percent of all births occurring in the parish are to teens under the age of 18 years old. That’s something the SAIL-SRHR project is trying to change through a series of life skills and peer educator training sessions across the parish. The most recent session, a peer educator workshop, occurred in the hills of St. Thomas, in a deep rural community called Airy Castle. The community’s teenage pregnancy rate is reflective of the reality across the parish.
CVC’s Technical Programme Officer in charge of implementing the SAIL-SRHR project Andrea Campbell, says choosing to have a peer educator training in Airy Castle was necessary because of the reality on the ground in the area. “The community suffers from a lack of intervention because of the fact that it is a deep rural area, so it isn’t easy to access it, or to set up sensitisation sessions there. This of course leads to a lack of accurate information for young people which in turn can result in them not knowing how to effectively navigate sexual and reproductive health issues and how to prevent early pregnancy,” she said.
The two day peer educator training session taught participants about the anatomy and physiology of the male and female reproductive system, introduction to common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), gender-based violence and positive masculinity. The workshop also focused on the roles and responsibilities of a peer educator and how to conduct community sessions about sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The participants welcomed the information that was shared and noted that it has equipped them with crucial knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights. Ashaun Osbourne said the training was beneficial, “I really liked it because I learnt a lot of things today. The training was great. I would say 80 percent of us that were here today learnt something. It was eye opening especially learning about the vagina.”
Jahneeka Williamson agrees, “I learnt a lot about both male and female reproductive organs. I think training sessions like these are important because they’re very informative and you can learn from it. They should have training sessions like this more often.”
For Shanique Martin the sessions covered more information than the regular school curriculum does and in a more interactive and relaxed format. “The training was very educational. I learnt a lot. Some of us when we do go to school we learn about some of this, but I think it is more effective in smaller groups, you tend to learn more and participate more. Even though they teach this in school it is not like how you guys do it. You break down the information more and interact with us like peers,” she said.
In the meantime, the Education and Youth Ministry’s Youth Empowerment Officer for St. Thomas, Dwayne Brown, says the partnership with CVC to host the peer educator training will be very beneficial to the Airy Castle community. “Our aim at the Ministry of Education and Youth is to target unattached youths. This includes young people who’re not in education, not in employment and not in training. We realize that in these rural areas we mostly find these types of persons because the information normally does not reach them and they do not know what is out there for them, so that is why we targeted this community. The main outcome that we want to see from this training is empowerment. We want the persons who are here, to be empowered enough to transfer the knowledge and the information that they get here to other members of the community and even adjoining communities, he said.”
The SAIL-SRHR (Strengthening Access, Inclusion and Leadership for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) project is funded by Global Affairs Canada through Alinea International. It is being implemented in Jamaica by CVC and the Jamaica Family Planning Association. The project is seeking to improve: access to inclusive health services; peer-led SRHR education; school-based health curriculum and teaching; and research and advocacy skills.
