Sex Education
Early pregnancy and the risks that go along with this are a community-identified problem in Karfiguéla. Since SEF has been working with community partners in funding education, leaders have consistently identified the need for more sex education and destigmatization of open discussion surrounding reproductive health and family planning. In the year 2020 there were 110 teen pregnancies in Karfiguela, whose total population is around 1300.
Early pregnancy is a large reason why many female students are forced to give up their educational dreams and SEF would like to address this barrier to education.
In October 2021, Sababou applied for the Giftaway Grant opportunity through the RPCV- Madison, WI group. We were lucky enough to receive $2,500 to start a sex education initiative! Read on to understand how this initiative works!
We have partnered with local health clinic partners, including Lioutou Kone and Mariam Sagnon, along with a small group of women whom they have hand chosen to receive training to provide one on one sex education counseling, pictured above. Lioutou is the only male of the group, and Mariam is seated directly behind him.
Lioutou and Mariam have a long history of working with our founders and the local health clinic as community liasons and have long provided health education to Karfiguela. Through Sababou's work and funding, they are now able to mobilize this small group of women to train and facilitate smaller more casual and frequent sex education sessions throughout the village. These women serve as go to counsel for teen girls and married women alike who are seeking family planning and sex education information.