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| In
Kenya as in other parts of Africa, young people
face tremendous challenges in the transition
to adulthood. Photo © Board of Regents
of the University of Winsconsin System. |
Introduction and Background
Currently, 55% of Kenya's population is made up
of young people aged 19 years and below. One third
of the entire population is between 13 and 19 years
old. In Kenya as in other parts of Africa, young
people face tremendous challenges in the transition
to adulthood. Increasing poverty and destitution
particularly arising from HIV/AIDS has made life
increasingly difficult. Problems related to sexuality
and reproduction; seem to play a central role in
the lives of many young people.
In many parts of Kenya sexual debut begins early
and in the absence of information and services.
According to the latest DHS, 8 out of 10 young people
in Kenya have had sex before the age of 20. This
high level of sexual activity is associated with
risks such as HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, unsafe abortion,
economic hardship and school dropout. Currently
5 in 10 girls in Kenya have begun childbearing before
age 20 years1. In most communities in Kenya, adolescents
are faced with many of the same problems and violations
of rights that adults face including sexual abuse
as well as exposure to harmful cultural and traditional
practices such as early marriage and Female Genital
Cutting (FGC).
Several reasons have been given to explain this
situation; the break down in traditional family
systems, influence of the mass media and urbanization
as well as the lack of access to information and
services are just some of the factors. In many countries,
opposition from religious and community leaders
as well as policy and decision makers often act
as barriers, preventing young people from accessing
information and services, which would enable them
meet their sexual and reproductive health needs2.
In addition, even where services exist, cultural
attitudes about sexuality and the rights of young
people create serious barriers and prevent young
people from accessing these services.
While not seen as a problem a few years ago, the
HIV/AIDS epidemic is now clearly more serious among
young people. According to UNFPA, 50% of all new
infections occur among young people between the
ages of 15 and 24 years. About 3.4% of all young
men aged 15-19 are infected with HIV and the rate
for young women of the same age group is 23%1. Although
young people suffer most from HIV/AIDS, the epidemic
among youth remains largely invisible both to young
people and society as a whole. They are more likely
to carry the virus for years without knowing that
they are infected. Consequently, the epidemic spreads
beyond high-risk groups to broader population of
young people making control harder. Yet young people
often lack the information, skills and services
they need to protect themselves from HIV infection.
Not only do young people lack the information and
skills they need to make sound, healthy choices,
but they are at particularly high risk of serious,
long-term consequences of poor decision-making about
sexual activity.
A wide range of factors prevents adolescents from
protecting themselves and making healthy decisions,
including : hostile environments in which policy-makers,
religious leaders, teachers, parents, and others
important in young people's lives oppose the provision
of accurate information and services to youth; a
dearth of accurate information; and lack of skills
and confidence needed to communicate effectively
with peers and parents. A successful approach to
helping adolescents will need to take these factors
into account and must in addition include provision
of information to adolescents, and development of
their communication and decision-making skills.
Computer Based Programme
The Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA) in
collaboration with the Dutch World Population Foundation
(WPF) has introduced a computer based sexuality
education programme, "World Starts With Me"
(WSWM) for young people between 12-19 years. This
is an innovative and comprehensive school based
sexuality curriculum that combines sexual reproductive
health and rights (SRH&R) and information technology
(IT). The WSWM curriculum combines two goals: One
goal is to teach young people creative computer
skills as a contribution to their socio-economic
development. Simultaneously, by using a curriculum
on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRH&R)
as contents, the program aims to support young people
in decision making for responsible and safe sexual
behaviour. Thus, WSWM is an innovative approach,
which combines knowledge transfer, attitude development
and skills building with training in computer skills.
The curriculum aims to effectively meet the needs
of adolescents by embedding prevention of HIV/AIDS,
teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse and stigma in the
broader context of physical, psychosocial, emotional
and sexual development of youth. The curriculum
uses a positive approach towards sexuality and empowers
young people with knowledge about their sexual and
reproductive rights, laid down in signed UN Conventions.
In this way the World Starts With Me (WSWM) accepts
young people as sexual beings promoting self-reliance
and involving them in decision-making. Besides sexuality
education, the program explores attitudes and develops
skills in human development relationships, sexual
behaviour, sexual health, society and culture.
The curriculum ends with mobilisation of young people
as social actors in their own right: educating peers
with what they have learnt in WSWM and involving
the community during an exhibition on the classical
results of working with WSWM.
The computer-based curriculum offers a safe environment
for learning about sensitive issues related to sexual
health. The WSWM program represents a self-guiding,
interactive learning process, which powerfully combines
text, figures, illustrations and images.
The Centre for the Study of Adolescence is currently
piloting this program in 5 secondary schools. From
the lessons learnt, plans are underway to rollout
the program to many other schools across the country.
For further information, contact The Centre for
the Study of Adolescence, Chiromo Road, UNHCR Compound,
Westlands, PO Box 19328, Nairobi. Tel: 254-020-4445951/
Fax: 254-020-4444781. Email: csa@africaonline.co.ke
Footnotes
1 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey
2003
2 The opposition to the introduction
of Family Life Education (FLE) into the school curriculum
in Kenya in the mid-nineties is a good example of
this.
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