This program grew out of the need to address new alternatives for young men and women ages 13-17 who have made the most of their time as Health Guardians and are ready for new experiences and challenges.

Young people play a key role in identifying the themes they want to discuss and examine. Activities unfold within a teaching framework that allows for analysis and reflection in groups. This year, 1,640 teenagers from the six municipalities where we work participated. Our workshops highlight themes such as: Values, Self-Esteem, Sexuality, Eating Disorders, The Rights of Young People, Civic Education and Participation, as well as those themes defined by teenagers as having special relevance to their daily lives.

Among the principal elements of this program are a focus on prevention, rights, gender equality and team work. Teenagers carry what they learn from workshops into their personal lives, families, schools and communities, working to improve their own health, education and economic opportunities, as well as those of their peers and loved ones.

One of the principal activities contributing to the success of this program is our intervention in schools, which has been expertly coordinated to promote participation and leadership among students and also involves teachers closely in FAI’s work philosophy and methodology. Students find themselves free to make decisions and take the role of protagonists in developing workshops where FAI staff facilitate processes of development to off-set the conditions of extreme poverty in their communities.

With this program, we aim not only to reach young people with information that is useful in their daily lives, but also to create alternatives that allow them to choose options that lead to a healthy and responsible life despite the adverse conditions surrounding them.