In the second week of July, youth advocates Anne-Fleur and Marinka and ex-CHOICE member Lionne gave a first training to our new partner NAYA, in Kenya. NAYA (Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa) is an independent organization, which consists of NAYA members (5 staff and 40 volunteers) and 34 member organizations. The mission of NAYA is to advocate for the promotion of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health through dissemination of information and championing their rights at national and community level. The activities of NAYA can be divided into three areas: advocacy, capacity building, and awareness raising.
Twenty-two members of NAYA from Nairobi, Kisumu and Nakuru were present during the 5-day training which focused mainly on advocacy and capacity building. The first day of the training was mostly about getting to know each other, creating a friendly environment, introducing the program for the rest of the week, doing some team building games and having some discussions about different SRHR issues to get a feel of the network.
On Tuesday the group actively participated in an advocacy simulation which resulted in feelings of anger, frustration, aggression, shock, laughter, and more. The simulation seemed to really touch the participants. One of the NAYA members stated ‘this was not a simulation, this was Kenya’.
On Wednesday the training focused on the concept of Youth Participation and different strategies to enlarge the level of Youth Participation for youth in Kenya, and on the process of ICPD and different ways for NAYA members to become involved in the ICPD process.
On Thursday different core qualities of individuals and communication styles were discussed and strategies, on how to implement the knowledge gained during the training, were made in groups.
Friday was the final day of the training and after giving a presentation on LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersexual), another heated discussion on homosexuality started. It was very valuable for the group to have some time and room to openly discuss their views and questions on these issues.
Overall, everyone had very positive reactions about this first training and the trainers enjoyed their first meeting with the extremely hard-working and enthusiastic group of NAYA members. CHOICE is looking forward to giving a follow-up training in the fall!
