Sara Jane and I have been coordinating every Thursday for the since last May to meet in Huaripampa and teach sexual health classes to the 5th graders (high school seniors). The class has been fun, and we've covered a varity of topics from values and moral, to goal setting, to taking care of yourself by preventing STDs, adolescent pregnancy, and avoiding traps like drugs and alcohol and machismo.
The best part of the classes, for me, was connecting with the kids and meeting a few of the superstar students (practically all of class), that you can tell are going to do something positive in their lives. These kids were always ready to learn, and have become highly reliable co-workers for Sara and I. If we suggest a project, they don't hesitate to begin delegating tasks. Whether it's cooking popcorn for a Movie Night, making a radio spot to play on the municipality's radio, or informing teachers that they need to send their students one of our activities, they are always on top of it.
This last event was a good example of it. Viky and Yanet (two super all-stars) got to go to a "Pasos Adelante Camp" with Sara, and then when they returned they instantly began planing how to share the information they learned with their classmates. They organized a great hour-long charla which included a video on pregnancy difficulties related to unwanted pregnancies, and a Q & A session. In the end, the only thing Sara and I needed to really do is show up with the video equipment and supervise (Sara actually had to do a little more due to troubles getting the radio spot perfect... but that's beside the point).
Here's Their Radio Spot:
Huaripama 'Piensalo Bien' Radio Spot
Here's a few pictures of the big event:
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| One of paplotes (large papers) the kids made for their pre-video presentation. |
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| Once one picture gets taken, everyone wants their picture take. Here's Sara and I sandwiching two of our students. |
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| Sara introduces us and the class to the 3rd and 4th graders. |
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| Jaki and Yanet (our all-stars) presenting their information. |
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| One of the four small groups being lead by our students during the breakout session. |
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| Sara making friends during the small group session. |
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| Two volunteers summarizing what they discussed during their small group session. I was impressed because they emphasized "the ABCs (Abstance, Being Faithful, and Condoms)" during their summary, something Sara and I didn't talk to them about that day... suggesting that one our students threw that out there. |
