Youth and Their Choices: Leadership at Cachoeirinha
In cooperation with the International Planned Parenthood Foundation and its local affiliate BEMFAM, Global Leaders Council Member Musimbi Kanyoro and Director of the GLC Secretariat Peggy Clark joined with IPPF Director General Tewodros Melesse and IPPF Director of the Western Hemisphere Region Carmen Barroso to host a group of more than 25 international journalists, UN member state delegates, and civil society leaders on a visit to an IPPF/BEMFAM community center in the favela of Cacoeirinha, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.
The group participated in an exciting discussion with 11 peer educators – young people from the favelas who are trained to share information on reproductive health with their friends and classmates. The young people were able to share their own experiences with the journalists, delegates and civil society leaders, and spoke passionately about their own futures and the importance of access to services and information about family planning.