Telling the ECSA Story

  Young Women engaged in sexual and reproductive health. CARE International/Gift Katuta A recent baseline report , under the SHE SOARS program in the Eastern Province of Zambia, indicates that two in a small of five adolescent girls and young women were already mothers. With the greatest need for sexual and reproductive health services, the Out-Of-School Adolescent mothers  either have little access to sexual and reproductive services or are excluded from traditional adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) programming.  In the Chadiza District, Maryner Lungu had a dream of positively impacting her peers through a community group. The 19-year-old said, “My journey as a youth researcher started in 2021 as a dream which I shared with a few friends. I remember telling my friends how much I wanted to be part of a group that could create an environment for me to inspire and influence young people in the community. A few of my friends discouraged me as the dr...

"Youth are rarely informed about their rights. During COVID, we’ve imposed ourselves so even the most disadvantaged young people have access to information about COVID. We hold sessions for young beggars and street children so they have information. I’ve been a part of that, and it makes me very happy.”  Bizo Rachid is 25, and getting a degree in Law and Communication in Niger. Even though mortality rates are lower for young people, COVID-19 is still devastating their lives—from job prospects to education to finding food. But they aren’t waiting helplessly for older people to fix it. Youth are getting organized. Of the nearly 12 million people CARE is currently helping respond to COVID-19, more than 3.3 million of them are under the age of 18. In many countries, youth is defined as up to 30 or 35, so many of our stories include people in their twenties. “For this rainy season, I should have been in the village helping my parents with work in the fields. I should have been pr...

October 21, 2018 Bidali with a chair he made. Bidali Martine, 25, is a South Sudanese refugee currently living in Omugo Extension of Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Northwestern Uganda. Bidali is originally from Yei in South Sudan and arrived in Uganda with his parents in August 2017. At the time of seeking refuge, Bidali was a student in Primary 7. Bidali is one of 51 refugees and host community youths being supported in livelihoods activities, including business skills training, technical skills training, and in-kind grant distributions. This project is implemented by CARE and local partner WINEPS, with funding from Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA). At the start of the program, each youth was to select a trade they were interested in learning, Bidali was the only youth who chose to learn carpentry. Other trades chosen include tailoring, bakery and catering, and hair saloon. Because Bidali was the only student in carpentry, he engaged in an apprentice...