“Changing body, menstrual hygiene and how to calculate menstrual cycle, SKILLZ to say No which include facial expression, clear body language or run away. The most important one for me is how to use facial expressions to say no so they know that I mean no when I say no”.

“I learnt a lot about how girls should take care of themselves and avoid infections. For instance, I now change my sanitary pad at least 3 times every day when I am on my period. Also, before I joined the SKILLZ Girls, I was not able to calculate my menstrual cycle but now I know how to do that, and I also taught my best friend all the things I learned as a SKILLZ Girl”

I love the key messages on sexual and reproductive health. I have gained understanding about my rights as a lady, and I can now say “no” to things I don’t want. I know the helplines I can call in case I’m in trouble. I really enjoyed the teachings and will love to be a coach one day.

I enjoyed looking through the various perspectives. Before, I thought one could get malaria from dirty water because mosquito larvae grow there; but our coach corrected that by saying that because mosquito larva stays in water doesn’t mean drinking dirty water can transmit malaria. I got to know that one can get malaria only through the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito.

I’ve learned about different health related issues, including HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and even the dangers of COVID-19 is and ways to curb these diseases from spreading. Also as a male, I was taught how to respect girls, treat them kindly and respectfully, shun gender-based violence and respect their boundaries. We live in a society where there are gender expectations and biases, these are big issues, but we must begin to work together to address them. I believe if more awareness is created like this SKILLZ program, things will gradually get better in the family which is the basic unit of every society.

I heard about YEDI’s program in my community that will also feature football competitions for both male and female youth. I was excited to participate and also play football; I was playing for my school team too. When the program started, youths from my community had a lot to learn and hung together to learn about themselves and others. The time I spent with my coach made me realize so many things about myself and others. For the football match, my team lost, but the program also taught me that the spirit of football is oneness; it has a unique way of bringing people together no matter the age and class. The SKILLZ program also increased my knowledge about self-determination, discipline, and caring for others, both on and off the pitch. Participants were also given free mosquito bednets. I want to thank the organizers for coming to my community with this good program.

If I had the knowledge I was impacted with during my participation in the SKILLZ program, I probably won’t be a victim and a school drop. But henceforth, the knowledge I possess will guide me against making mistakes about my body and future. The program has also encouraged me to be strong and focus on caring for my child, while I am now motivated to go back to school. I also learned that rape can never be the victim’s fault and that victims of sexual and gender-based violence need to speak up and get help.

The advantage of the program to children is helping them with exposure and making them better people. The programme will help them to discover themselves more and help them to understand their social values, set standards and what they can achieve in life.

I know that I am already beautiful as I am now and I know different types of abuse in case when people abuse me or anyone else is being abused. With the programme I know where to go or who to talk to.

Receiving calls from participants’ parents and from my participants themselves on the new day of the year makes me feel extremely happy and fulfilled. As peer educators and coaches, we have positively impacted their lives in a variety of ways, and these will have a multiplier effect on society.

A family came to the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Awareness Outreach at Ferry Oworo Community seeking assistance for their two children suffering
from rashes all over their bodies without any idea what they were. Their rashes prevented them from going to school and socializing with friends as the kids in their neighborhood avoided them because they were ill. An HIV test was conducted, and they tested positive; they were connected with care through YEDI’s efforts, and are now healthy, and are ready to return to school.