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| UNFPA
at work in Nicaragua Programme highlights: Forging a Sustainable Future Overcoming Barriers and Working to Develop a National Population Policy Advocating Population Issues Box:Making a difference in El Chile |
Making a Difference in
El Chile Deep in the hills of San Ramon, the tiny village of El Chile clings to the side of a steep slope. In the distance, extinct volcanoes look like pustules on the skin of the earth. Here and there patches of tropical forest remain, but most of the land has been cleared by subsistence farmers and their families. The one dirt road, which snakes its way through the hills, is impassable during the rainy season. When it is open, only fourwheeldrive vehicles or horses can get through. Most people make the treacherous threehour trek to El Chile on foot. Leopoldo Torrez is a subsistence farmer who has spent 20 years trying to scratch a living from a twohectare farm plot in El Chile. With luck, the maize and beans Leopoldo grows on his tiny plot will feed his family for six months. Between harvests, he looks for any kind of work he can find. Karla Maria Torrez, 19, Leopoldo’s oldest daughter, is one of six siblings, making the Torrez family about average size for this region, which is marked by unemployment and poverty. But Karla is luckier than most — she has a job. For the past year Karla has been working for a UNFPAsponsored project to increase awareness of population and reproductive health issues among rural youth. The project, which includes sex education, is being implemented by the Ministry for Social Action in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. "My aunt invited me to my first workshop, held in San Ramon," explains Karla. "After that, I decided to become a village promoter in order to help my community. When the church found out I was speaking to others in our local religious youth group about population and family planning, they told me I had to stop. Instead, I resigned from the youth group. I decided that this work is too important, not only for me, but for my village." There was a happy ending: the local priest, once he understood that the project was promoting responsible sexual behaviour and family life, endorsed the effort. Karla says the project has helped her to mature. "It taught me to be more responsible about my future and to think about what kind of life I want for myself," she says. "Working as a village promoter helped me make up my mind about finishing high school and perhaps even going on to college. I am determined to do whatever it takes to continue my studies." The ultimate test will be how parents react to the project. Leopoldo Torrez, for one, is unequivocal: "If I had known about family planning as a young man, I would have been more responsible and not had as many children." |
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