"As we know that young people are sexually active today, they need complete knowledge on sexual and reproductive health".
"I am 24 years old. The youth programmes in Family Planning Association in my place attracted me to be involved in the youth activities".
Niraj has volunteered for the Family Planning Association of Nepal since 2003.
"After I had joined this organization as a youth volunteer, I got to know more and more about sexual and reproductive health, sex and sexuality, adolescents and many more. I have also participated in life skills and leadership trainings conducted by FPA Nepal, which has helped me to develop my self confidence and leadership skills.
Today I can openly talk about the SRH issues in my family, community and friends. As we know that young people are sexually active today, they need complete knowledge on sexual and reproductive health.
I am proud to be the youth volunteer of IPPF.
Today I am helping my community in disseminating the SRH informations through my peers.
I have recently participated at REACH’08, the first ever National Youth Conference on HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka, organized by Save Lanka Kids, from19th – 21st of October 2008".
The Conference organizers developed four key topics:
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Rights
- Resources
in relation to HIV and AIDS and young people.
"Me along with Sadaf Nasim (youth volunteer, Family Planning Association of Pakistan) were invited as speakers for this national conference in Sri Lanka.
Milinda Rajapaksha who is a youth volunteer of Family Planning Assocation of Sri Lanka played a key role in organizing this great event.
There were about 120 young people from different parts of Sri Lanka who participated in this conference.
We presented on:
- Sexual and reproductive health as a fundamental right which forms the basis for all rights
- The importance of networking.
We used IPPF Charter on Sexual and Reproductive Rights as the tool in our presentation to make clear understanding for the participants about SRH rights.
I have also included the IPPF strategy in youth networking in my presentation to give an example how a youth can be a change agent.
The conference was organized by the young people like us.
The young volunteers in the conference were very energetic and hard working.
It was a great experience and proud to be a part of this event for me and also for other young speakers from South Asia and Pacific regions.
This is my experience in short which I wanted to share being a youth volunteer of IPPF FPA Nepal.
As a speaker in this conference, I could share my experience which I gained during my involvement in the youth activities in FPA Nepal, and contribute in making this event a success, thereby bringing about a positive and significant change in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Sri Lanka".