2009.10.06: October 6, 2009: Headlines: COS - Nicaragua: Education: Women's Issues: Youth: MPN Now: Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica Werder educates Nicaraguan teenage girls

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Nicaragua: Peace Corps Nicaragua: Peace Corps Nicaragua: Newest Stories: 2009.10.06: October 6, 2009: Headlines: COS - Nicaragua: Education: Women's Issues: Youth: MPN Now: Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica Werder educates Nicaraguan teenage girls

By Admin1 (admin) (98.188.147.225) on Tuesday, November 03, 2009 - 8:47 am: Edit Post

Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica Werder educates Nicaraguan teenage girls

Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica Werder educates Nicaraguan teenage girls

In Nicaragua, it is not uncommon to find girls who are pregnant for the first time at age 14. What's more, many become pregnant and not know how they ended up in that situation. For Jessica Werder, a Honeoye native who is in the Peace Corps, this was the driving force for her and others to develop various adolescent health programs in the Central American country. "For those women, it is the least that I can do to give them information," Werder said. Nicaragua has one of the highest fertility rates in all of Central America, Werder said, and it's difficult for Nicaraguan young people to complete their education as parents - so educating teens about sexual behaviors was a major focus. This health program, Werder said, must not only educate teens about their bodies but also help them to make the right decisions when it comes to being sexually active. "The process of decision-making serves them in many facets of their lives and helps them become informed and productive citizens," Werder said. For Werder, it is not about telling adolescents how to live their lives - but rather, providing them with the information and skills necessary to make their own decisions.

Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica Werder educates Nicaraguan teenage girls

Honeoye native educates Nicaraguan teenage girls

The radio promoters and then one of me seated with Nicaragua colleagues, observing an activity to teach adolescents about Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

By Kathryn Rybczak, staff writer
Daily Messenger

Posted Oct 06, 2009 @ 03:00 PM
Honeoye, N.Y. -

In Nicaragua, it is not uncommon to find girls who are pregnant for the first time at age 14. What's more, many become pregnant and not know how they ended up in that situation.

For Jessica Werder, a Honeoye native who is in the Peace Corps, this was the driving force for her and others to develop various adolescent health programs in the Central American country.

"For those women, it is the least that I can do to give them information," Werder said.

Nicaragua has one of the highest fertility rates in all of Central America, Werder said, and it's difficult for Nicaraguan young people to complete their education as parents - so educating teens about sexual behaviors was a major focus. This health program, Werder said, must not only educate teens about their bodies but also help them to make the right decisions when it comes to being sexually active.

"The process of decision-making serves them in many facets of their lives and helps them become informed and productive citizens," Werder said.

For Werder, it is not about telling adolescents how to live their lives - but rather, providing them with the information and skills necessary to make their own decisions. Werder recently talked with the Messenger about her involvement with the program.

Q: What is the project you are currently working on?
A: I began giving a series of adolescent health classes to two sixth-grade classrooms, with a focus on pregnancy prevention and prevention of STDs and HIV/AIDS. The teachers were extremely receptive to the material.

However, both of the teachers with whom I was working urged me to think about a way to expand the classes into the secondary schools, talking to the students who were turning 15, 16 and 17, and entering romantic relationships and, all too often, leaving high school because they were pregnant.

From there, conversations were started with the administrators at the Ministry of Education, and we began to work on creating a sustainable project - something that could be integrated into the existing curriculum - so that students would learn the information during class time, without disrupting the existing schedule of topics that needed to be taught. We came up with the idea to write a series of books to integrate adolescent health topics - with a focus on sexual and reproductive health - into math, science, language and civics classes.

An example lesson plan consists of a graph of HIV/AIDS statistics in Nicaragua, math problems pertaining to the information and a short lesson about HIV/AIDS which follows the math assignment.

In order to secure funding for printing the materials, I worked with Peace Corps to set up a fund through the Peace Corps Partnership Program. Partnership is a program in which donors from the United States can contribute a financial donation -tax-free - toward a Peace Corps project somewhere in the world.

To date, I have raised about $400 for the project and am hoping to raise an additional $2,500 before January 2010, so that we can have the money to print the resources for the new school year, which begins in late-February 2010. If full funding is secured, materials will be distributed to more than 3,000 students annually within the country.

Administrators and teachers alike are excited about the possibility of the project, especially given the fact that currently, adolescent pregnancies in Nicaragua (pregnancies to women under 19 years of age) constitute one-third of all pregnancies, and a similar proportion of maternal deaths. In addition, rates of HIV/AIDS are rising rapidly in the country and prevention is seen as a key way to avoid an epidemic situation with the disease.


Q: How did the project come about?
A: Peace Corps, an agency of the U.S. government, is a volunteer organization that works in a number of developing countries throughout the world. Volunteers sign up for 27 months of service - three months of in-country training, plus two years of service as a volunteer.

Peace Corps sends volunteers only to countries with which it has a formal, standing work agreement, and it enters only countries to which it has officially been invited by the host-country government. From there, it works with government agencies, non-profits and community leaders to identify work priorities in-country.

When volunteers sign up for Peace Corps, they are generally assigned to a specific project. Given the volunteer/work experiences that I had in the health field, and my master's in public health, Peace Corps felt that it was the best fit for me. And because Nicaragua's health project involves a lot of health education, I suppose that I was a good match for the program.

n Nicaragua, within the health program, this means that Peace Corps has worked extensively with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health to identify the health problems that Nicaraguans prioritize in their country. This is then translated into work goals for volunteers.

In this case, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA) has outlined three areas of substantial need: reduction of maternal mortality, promotion of healthy sexual behaviors among adolescents and men (in light of a growing HIV/AIDS problem), and the reduction of teen pregnancy.


Q: In your own words, what does the experience mean to you?
A: Peace Corps means a number of things to me. It is an experience for profound personal growth. It is an opportunity for professional development and a way to see the world. It is patience and tolerance and humility and friendship.

And above all, it is a service, a way to use your time and skills to help the people of the world. Perhaps (in) a less-obvious manner, help the people of the United States. Peace Corps volunteers promote a better understanding of Americans abroad, and return home with substantial knowledge and experience to be more-informed citizens.

For me, that fact has been one of the most meaningful aspects of my service.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: October, 2009; Peace Corps Nicaragua; Directory of Nicaragua RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Nicaragua RPCVs; Education; Women's Issues; Youth





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Story Source: MPN Now

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