Boys writing a skit about their experiences as consultants.
This is the third of three posts about an organization in northern Nicaragua, CESESMA, and their model of youth empowerment, as well as their innovative new project on sex and sexuality. Part I is here, and Part II is here.
Nearly forty of the 70 young people who participated in the consultoria met one day in an open-sided rancho to share their experiences. Their mission: analyze their peers’ responses and make recommendations to CESESMA.
Working in small groups with consultants from other communities, the adolescents first shared what they themselves learned.
One young woman explained, “Now I understand that sexuality is how we dress, how we love ourselves.” An adolescent boy said, “I learned that sexuality is something it’s OK to talk about.”
A girl shared, “I learned sexual rights are that we have the right to enjoy ourselves, to dress however we want, even if the boys say we look ugly or make fun of us.”
For the young consultants, the importance of becoming informed about sexuality was mostly framed in terms of their own knowledge and understanding of their bodies, identity, and choices. They mostly spoke in positive terms, of wanting to be informed, of now knowing they didn’t need to be embarrassed to talk about sex or sexuality.
Yet some consultants brought up kids’ needs to be informed of their rights in order to protect themselves.
Jorleny, 12 years old, explained, “In our future many people will try to trick us and it’s important we know the meaning of things, so if someone tries to trick us they can’t.”
Felix Pedro, also 12, echoed, “Kids need to know that they have rights, and that no one can violate their rights, not their parents or their siblings.”
After more discussion in groups, the consultants made their recommendations to CESESMA.
Several groups mentioned the importance of being able to talk about sex and sexuality with their parents. One group suggested, “If a girl is abused, she needs to talk about it and not keep silent. She should tell her mother.” A common suggestion was that CESESMA offer training for parents so they “would understand it’s not vulgar to talk about sex and sexuality.” Another group requested that “parents take care of their kids so they aren’t abused.”
The young consultants also requested workshops for kids and young people so they could ask questions and learn more about sex and sexuality.
Consultants present their recommendations to the group.
Through their official recommendations to CESESMA the consultants fully assumed their roles as change-makers in their communities.
Yet many of the young people talked about how much they liked the process of interviewing their peers. It gave them confidence, and listening to the kids and teens in their communities completed the circle of trust initiated by CESESMA.
As 12 year-old Jaliksa told me, “They trusted us and answered what they thought, without being afraid. And no one interrupted them.”
