Youth

The BFPA Youth Progamme

“The BFPA has a comprehensive Youth Programme which is focused on two major objectives.

The empowerment of young people to make good Sexual and Reproductive Health Decisions,
The expansion of the delivery of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services to young people. "

—

At the tip of the spear of our youth work is a dedicated core of young people ages 10 to 24. This group of young people are known as the Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM).

This group utilises the proven successful community intervention of Peer Education to educate and empower primarily young people in better Sexual Health Decision Making.

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In-Schools

Programme

The BFPA supports the proven curriculum in Human and Family Life Education currently in our schools by utilising their own life empowering Comprehensive Development Education curriculum.

The BFPA annually visits s all primary schools, all twenty-two secondary schools, Barbados Community College, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. The BFPA also work annually with numerous Easter, Summer and Christmas Camps.

Comprehensive Development Education

Adhering to the principle of a rights-based approach to human development. The BFPA has developed its own culturally appropriate curriculum, known as the Comprehensive Development Education.

It seeks to equip all people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to determine and enjoy their sexuality—physically and emotionally, individually and in relationships.

Adolescent Young Mother's

Programme

Now in its tenth cohort, the BFPA’s Adolescent Young Mother’s Programme (AYMP) empowers young adolescent mothers to achieve independent and self-sufficient lives. This is the third year The Maria Holder Memorial Trust has graciously facilitated this expanded life-changing programme.

Through this programme, the BFPA provides a culturally enriched environment in which healthy, holistic living practices exist and cultivates a sense of positive energy and self-worth that will guide these mothers to become empowered, self-confident, nurturing women, mothers, daughters, companions, employers
and or employees

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Counselling

and

Support

Many young people are struggling with how they feel. They are having problems with friends, family or school, they are anxious, depressed, angry or scared and need to talk to someone, but find it difficult to talk to people they know.

Counselling and other advice services can help them talk things through, support them without making them feel judged, and in confidence (unless they disclose that their personal safety is at risk).

Advice services can make a positive difference in their lives. The range of advice services for children and young people includes face-to-face counselling, one-to-one phone calls, webchat, email, forums and face-to-face sessions.

Adolescent

Clinical

Services

The BFPA’s clinic makes a special effort to cater to the needs of young adolescents in Barbados. These needs are catered for in a comfortable considerate and confidential environment as long as there is no immediate life risk to the young person or others. For all young people, we offer free counselling and support on all medical, health, sexual and wellness-related issues no parental accompaniment required. At the BFPA, you have the choice of walking-in or appointment. It pays to call is in advance to see when they are drop-in and appointment-only hours are.

Services which could be accessed are as follows:-

Birth control options
Emergency contraceptive pills (EC)
Condoms
Pregnancy testing
HIV and STI testing
Pap tests
Stress
Drug & Alcohol/Addictions counselling
And much more

Adolescent Advocacy

Youth Advocacy is the empowerment of young people in their everyday lives. At the BFPA we provide support to young people in all areas that affect them, be it education, housing, employment, unemployment, health, social security, recreation and human relationships. We also give young people insight into the adult world of decision making and the exercising of authority. Our advocacy framework allows young people to make clear choices about issues that affect their everyday life. Youth Advocacy can assist young people to use the existing social systems to develop a real sense of self-worth.

The BFPA equips our young people with the advocacy and interpersonal skills across all social levels. We empower young people to take actions in situations and issues that affect them. We believe that it is essential to move at a pace conducive to the physical, psychological and emotional change that young people experience, Some of the main advocacy areas for our young people are as follows:-

Adolescent Access to Healthcare
Expansion of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Schools
Youth and Adolescent Mental Health
Increase in Youth Employment Opportunities
Elimination of Violence within chools
Increase in funding for youth programming

Youth Personal and Professional Development

As young people grow, they build skills and knowledge that are important to them as they become more independent and grow older. Youth personal development can happen a lot of different ways. They include self-led learning, communication training, action to develop skills, self-motivation, and group activities. Becoming fully engaged in the world around themselves personal development becomes and important thing to think about and work towards. Some of the issues through our youth programme that young people can address through personal development include:

Increasing self-awareness
Learning new skills, including communication, visioning and goal setting, life planning, and much more
Developing self-respect and self-esteem
Building strengths and talents
Identifying employability
Enhancing quality of life
Improving health
Enriching social abilities
Fostering independent living skills such as educational planning, money management, bill paying, etc.
Managing transitions and rites-of-passage