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Rights at the heart of RHIYA Articles / Other... Date: Nov 15, 2006 - 03:12 AM |
| It was a summer afternoon. Ngan, a secondary school pupil, had just finished an extra-curricular class, and was rushing to the Tan Hoa Youth-Friendly Corner (YFC) in Hoa Binh town for yet another weekly 'class' with her peers. This class, however, is different from the others Ngan attends. The topics covered are not run-of-the mill school subjects delivered through passive lectures. Here, Ngan gets basic information on sexuality and reproductive health, and finds herself in the role of facilitator and active participant of group discussions. "I am very much interested in these meetings because they give me knowledge which I was previously too embarrassed to ask about, and didnt know where to find," she says proundly. Participating in interactive education on sex and gender are among the fundamental rights of youths like Ngan that RHIYA has been making all of its endeavors to realize. Today, Viet Nam acknowledges its young boys and girls as the future of the country as never before. Their basic rights, however, are not always fully recognized. Adults tend to address youth issues the way they assume is good for their children, but often without consideration for the real needs and wants of young adults. Adopting a rights-based approach, RHIYA partners are pioneers in basing their activities on young peoples rights rather than on adults responsibilities. Integrating youths into the project implementation process is central to this approach. Young people like Ngan are not merely beneficiaries, but protagonists in key project activities. At the local level, they design, decorate and operate YFCs. At the central level, they take part in the development of project strategies, products and materials. In general, young people are given the power to determine their own destinies. RHIYA is a project of young people for young people. No one understands the needs and concerns of the young better than the young themselves. Their participation and ownership is crucial to ensuring the services provided by RHIYA are tailored to actual demand. According to a client exit survey conducted in August 2005, as many as 98.2% of respondents perceived YFC services as accessible and discrete. Most of them (85.4%) were willing to come back and would recommend the services to their friends. In a country where reproductive health care services traditionally cater for married people, the data implies initiatives addressing young peoples rights and needs, and, crucially, involving young people themselves, are slowly but steadily emerging. Adolescence is a critical period for self and identity formation. It comes with many physical, mental and emotional changes. Protecting young people's rights and respecting their dignity are, therefore, key to building up a strong and confident generation of individuals who can make informed decisions for a better future |
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This article comes from Asia-initiative.org https://asia-initiative.org/Xchanges/ The URL for this story is: https://asia-initiative.org/Xchanges/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=246 |