I am at the table where children issues are being discussed- Barrack Hussein

Pre-adolescence and adolescence come with many things, among them body changes that may leave someone confused, especially if they are uninformed.

That was the case for 14-year-old, Barrack Hussein. He was born and raised in Kacheliba in West Pokot county, where Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage is normal practice and where drugs and substance abuse is common among young adolescents.

Growing up, he couldn’t express himself before his peers or talk about Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). He would hear his friends talk about wetdreams and laugh at girls who have had period accidents at school. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to say or do something, he could not because he had no information.

What he had was an interest and passion in SRHR, something that pushed him to volunteer to be a peer educator under DSW’s Holistic Action Project for Young Adolescents (HAPA). The project, implemented in West Pokot and Kilifi counties, aims to improve Young Adolescents’ SRHR outcomes through increasing their access to age appropriate SRHR information and skills in advocacy and leadership.

Luckily, Barrack was selected and trained as a peer educator. He enhanced his knowledge of Adolescent SRHR and was able to effectively facilitate peer learning sessions and disseminate ASRHR information to his peers.

“When HAPA came to our school, I was, at first, hesitant to join those selected as peer educators since I couldn’t stand in front of my peers and express myself however much I had an interest in becoming a leader someday. After undergoing the training on peer education and advocacy, started gaining confidence day by day by facilitating peer learning sessions in my school and participating in advocacy spaces,” he says.

Eventually, the Department of Children, West Pokot County selected him together with four other Adolescent Advocacy Network (ANN) members to be part of the Sub-County children’s Assembly.

I’m now a clerk in West Pokot County Children Assembly. I am at the table where children issues are being discussed. The intervention shaped my behaviour and helped me realise my potential and picture my future and those of other adolescents,” Barrack says.

His mother attributes Barrack’s smooth transition from early to middle adolescence to the HAPA project. She says he showed exemplary behaviour to his siblings and his peers after engaging in the program.

“Being first-born, I started feeling a sense of responsibility and started teaching my siblings and my parents about life skills, effects of harmful cultural practices, and menstrual hygiene management. Understanding ASRHR and the magnitude of challenges in my school and the surrounding, I developed a passion championing for the rights of adolescents,” he explains.

Barrack became the Chairperson of AAN and with the support from DSW through the HAPA project, he participated in different advocacy spaces that resulted in remarkable achievements including the consistent supply of sanitary towels by the government and stakeholders.

His engagement in project implementation has contributed to the improvement of his academic performance, and discipline, influenced positive decision-making and advocacy.