Pride in Knowledge, Pride in Helping: The Life of Youth Outreach Educators

Nak became a youth outreach educator at the age of 21. He studies (for a diploma in management) on the weekends because he is out in the communities on the weekdays. His parents and siblings complain that he is rarely at home, but he knows that they are proud of what he does. Sophors is an advanced student in Finance & Accounting. She says that her position as a youth outreach worker is a source of honour to her parents. When friends or relatives need a blood test for getting married, her parents like to refer them to Sophors. Nak, Sophors, and the other outreach educators are tenacious.

They have taken boats to distant villages when the road has been washed away, gone very early in the morning or very late at night to catch people at home, and sacrificed their own studies and their free time for their work.

They also tackle tough topics. For example, Nak talks about gender equality, and about a young woman’s right to say no, although such topics are so contrary to Cambodian tradition that some participants tell him he is being unrealistic.

Nak knows that he is not going to change cultural norms overnight but he enjoys initiating debate and devising participatory activities so young people can at least think about and discuss the issues. The educators work well together, deciding among themselves who should execute which activities and where they should do them. They also plan their schedules so that the female educators are not working or travelling alone in remote areas. Nak enjoys becoming part of the NGO community. This year, he attended an NGO youth camp and when he completes his studies, he plans to apply for a permanent job with one of the NGOs that has participated in the Save the Children project.

House-to-house Visits

Home visits may include a private interaction with a young person, or may involve other family members, or anyone else who happens to be visiting at the time. If the discussion is not one-to-one, then the young person knows that he or she can confidentially approach the educator at another time. Although the educator arrives at the house with a planned topic for discussion, the conversation will shift in response to questions posed by those present. Sometimes, a youth educator specifically visits concerned parents. Nak recalls one such situation:

[The family] said we promote pornography . . . so they did not allow their child to join our education. Instead of giving up, I visited that family often to explain about the benefit of getting this kind education. Finally, the family changed their mind and helped our group. The father even provided his house for small group education sessions.

The educators also sometimes visit the homes of pregnant unmarried girls, to foster acceptance by their families, to facilitate their access to (and support from providers of) health care, and to provide emotional support and basic reproductive health information.

Challenges to Traditional Gender Norms

Gradually, for example, the project has exposed thousands of young people to the idea of different possibilities for what it means to be male or female in their societies. For example, both Sophors and Nak talk with young people about the problem of rape. They also link coercive sex to sexual health. Sophors explains, for example, that a woman who has an infection might feel pain on intercourse, but that men often demand sex and “don’t care about the health of women.” Nak commented that young men sometimes have group sex with a sex worker, whether or not she wants it. He speaks with young people about the consequences of rape for girls and young women – not only the serious health risks, but also the psychological sequelae and even about the economic costs for those who are raped at work and give up their job.

Shifts in attitudes are incremental.
For example, the outreach educators tell them it is against the law to hit a woman or child, yet they witness domestic violence regularly. Young people understand that girls have an equal right to schooling but cannot see how girls can safely travel to and from school or be spared from the household chores. The following comments, made in small group discussions organized by the educators, reflect the disparity in attitudes that are still typical among many young people in the project communities:

“If I only had the money to send one child to school, I would send the girl because she needs education to look after herself and her family.” – Young woman, age 19 “If I only had the money to send one child to school I would send the boy because it is sometimes dangerous for the girl to travel to and from school.” – Young man, age 20. The very fact that young people are discussing these issues, however, and being encouraged to reflect on them, is part of a broad social change. Nak sees evidence of this transition in gender norms. For example, he recalls, “One group of boys didn’t want to walk around with girls. Now, after being educated about gender, they can now walk around with girls without thinking they are weak.”

PDFs/55157_Case.Studies.EDU%20low.pdf Adapted from UNFPA Publication, « Good Practices in Education and Communication »p.12/13 et 15