Help develop a Youth Friendly Space in Simonga

We are thrilled that the Youth Friendly Space is now complete! 

All the building work is finished and most of the furnishings are in. 

We are pleased to report that work with the Youth Group has been happening and in February, we began holding sessions at Simonga clinic with peer educators aged 15 to 20 years old.

In 2023, the need for a YFS st Simonga RHP was identified to provide adolescent health services, particularly addressing the prevalent sexual and reproductive health challenges in Simonga. The clinic, which is managed by only three staff members and supported by community-based volunteers, aims to involve youths to overcome barriers related to culture and age that hinder their access to services. 

Since the program started, 44 young people have been engaged, with 20 still in school who will serve as reproductive health ambassadors to their peers. Sessions have focused on building confidence, communication, and facilitation skills. Future include collaborating with nearby schools to train more peer educators.

Recently, sessions have been held with 24 school leavers aged 17 to 24, covering topics such as sexually transmitted infections, sexual consent, social media impacts, and human papillomavirus. These sessions prioritize interactivity and participation over instruction, aiming to provide a model for participants to use when engaging with other young people.

Thank you so much for your amazing support of this project and we are looking forward to sharing more progress from the Youth Group. 

Our construction has been going on well and we are pleased that the Youth Friendly Space is almost complete! 

When we began construction of the facility at Simonga, it became clear that the container that we intended to modify for the YFS was not going to work as we initally planned. With this in mind, we consulted the facility staff and decided to build a permanent structure for the YFS on the facility grounds. 

The YFS has 2 rooms, enabling counselling and learning to happen in private and a third larger room for group activities.  

At the moment the building has been built and plastered and the roof is on. The YFS will be completed shortly with windows, proper floors, electricity and painted walls. 

In September, the youth group held a painting ceremony of the outside of the centre, which was important for the group to be a part of the creation of this building. The painting will be finished once the rest of the building is complete and will hold the youth group emblem on the outside in the agreed colours.  

We are thrilled that there is so much excitment from the community for the YFS and we cannot wait for it to open. It is a fantastic addition to the wider renovations happening in Simonga.