Sex Ed Youth Leadership Conference

In Peace Corps Peru, we have a program that is called Pasos Adelante (Steps Ahead) that we use to teach sexual education and healthy lifestyles to the youth in our communities. We train the students who participate in Pasos Adelante to be peer health promoters to educate their peers in sexual health and healthy lifestyles. Training youth health promoters is a way that we try to promote sustainability with the work that we do and to empower the students to create change in their own communities. Pasos Adelante is a great program that I have had a lot of fun with since I started it nine months ago in Huallanca! 

Over the weekend, we were able to put on an over-night regional Pasos Adelante conference in our state´s capital city Huaraz. Each volunteer in Ancash that leads a Pasos Adelante group in their community brought several students and we all came together to motivate them and teach them even more about sexual education and healthy lifestyles and how to be a peer health promoter. The students had a blast! They loved meeting youth from other parts of our state and they had a great time with all the activities! It was so fun seeing them learn and grow in just a matter of a few days as they became even more comfortable talking about safe sex and healthy lifestyles. 

Between my site mate and me, we brought 6 girls from Huallanca. They were a bit of a handful, but like I said seeing them having so much fun and learning so much made it all worth it :)

During one of the activities

Another activity about sex vs gender 

Making friendship bracelets

On the second day we woke up to a beautiful clear day in Huaraz where the views of the mountains are just stunning!

The 6 girls we brought from Huallanca 

Me and my health promoters from my Pasos Adelante group :) 

Teaching about HIV/AIDS

Teaching correct condom use 

Correct condom use 

A group photo of all our wonerful youth health promoters :)