My name is Francoise Tuyizere, and I am based in Kiramuruzi Sector, Gatsibo District, Eastern Province. I am 15 years old, and I am a student at Nyabisindu Secondary School. From a very young age, I was interested in activities aimed at making a difference in my community. As I approached my teenage years, I joined a youth club, but I really wasn’t getting the kind of information and tools that I felt were sufficient to lead me on my path to speak for myself and my peers on a higher level on topical issues like teenage pregnancies.
However, toward the end of 2019, I was lucky to be one of the 20 adolescents chosen in our district to begin training with Health Development Initiative (HDI) under their ‘adolescent empowerment program’. I was trained on issues related to advocacy, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), child rights and how they interconnect to contribute to full access to youth friendly SRHR information and services. I have learnt a lot since. This training opportunity has offered me the relevant information and self confidence that I can rely on to do the advocacy that I and my peers need to make autonomous and healthy decisions around our sexuality and bodies. It is also a good guide as I pursue my dream to influence decision making and create allies among duty bearers who include parents, teachers, policy makers, local leaders, and service providers to support and effect sustainable changes in relation to child rights, especially, on the SRHR agenda. What surprised me most during the training sessions was learning that any human being has a right to do advocacy. I thought only local leaders and people who are wealthy are allowed to do so. I didn’t know that even a teenager like me can go to any gathering or public office and speak for themselves or others.
What I have gained so far
Since I started the training, I have had the confidence and the right information which has enabled me to request the Nyabisindu Secondary School administration to grant me an opportunity to talk to my peers. So far, I have successfully given at least 10 talks regarding SRHR and child rights at our school assembly. I have also been invited to the Village, Cell level to give talks and I have also been privileged to be invited by the Executive Secretary of Kiramuruzi Sector to speak at several meetings and other gatherings where I have addressed local leaders and the general community on child rights and SRHR. So far, he has invited me thrice. Besides speaking, I have also written about 15 poems which I have been invited to perform at youth gatherings. In my opinion, the poetry has been very instrumental in gauging my knowledge of the training I have received on SRHR and child rights because I have received lots of
positive feedback from both young people and adults after my performances. I have also been involved in encouraging and assisting one of the adolescents in our youth club not only to openly speak about being sexually assaulted by an adult but to report the matter to the authorities.
The challenges
My biggest challenge I had was dealing with pushback when I was starting out. I was beginning a conversation about topics that many people didn’t fully understand or were not ready to talk about openly, especially in the rural area. This meant that many people, including adults, used to make discouraging comments calling me names like ‘talkative’ or ‘self-centred’ but I did not stop. Today, some of these parents ask me to talk to their own children because they now believe in my contribution.
The Future
Moving forward, I have drafted an action plan and I have outlined the essential steps on how to push for advocacy countrywide. I am continuing with the training and at the end of the program, I will seek support on how to move forward with my plan to take what I have learnt to schools, local government and others.