RTK - Ghana Youth

Twenty-two-year-old Ishmeal Selassie is working three jobs to improve the lives of young people in Ghana. Selassie, who lives with his aunt and six cousins just outside Accra, explains the reasons for his dedication to HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual and reproductive health rights.

On his daily work:
When I am not working on RTK, I can be found at Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, where I am a training assistant in adolescent sexuality and reproductive health and youth. I also volunteer with the African Youth Alliance–Ghana as a member of the Youth Advisory Board. All of these groups focus on the promotion of the rights of young people in sexuality and reproductive health and the provision of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services for all young people.

Why he became involved with HIV/AIDS issues:
I believe that reproductive health knowledge and HIV/AIDS awareness are a necessity for all young people. Sexuality and reproductive health rights are human rights. Denying or impeding access by young people to information that they have a right to know or to reproductive health services, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS, is a crime and in some cases manslaughter.

Why he decided to volunteer for RTK:
One of the things that influenced my decision to join the RTK initiative was my experience as a peer educator for a couple of years. Another factor that influenced me was the fact that the young people working with RTK have decided to be a pacesetter and a role model not only for other young people within PPAG but also for all young people in my country, Africa, and other parts of the world, especially the developing ones. I believe that no matter where you live, you have the potential to become great and accomplish a lot of enviable achievements for the admiration and emulation of others. Last but not least, I became involved with RTK because I think that we young people need to take advantage of every opportunity we receive and make the best use of it, not only to benefit ourselves but also to make the world into the perfect place we hoped for but did not have.

On an event that inspired him to work in HIV/AIDS:
One event that made an impact on me was the recent world AIDS conference in Barcelona. I had the privilege to be sponsored by the UNFPA through the African Youth Alliance Programme in Ghana. I had an experience similar to those of youth from other African countries: a number of young people had been selected by their countries to represent them at the conference, only to be refused visas under the assumption that they would not return to their country of origin. However, I was finally granted permission to go. At this event I learned that regardless of how few we are in number, we could achieve a lot once committed and aware of what we needed to do.

What his work for RTK entails:
I was part of a one-week workshop aimed at equipping other young people to be members of the initiative and to work as field research assistants, collecting participatory action research data on the knowledge levels of young people in selected communities. Together with two research officers and other young people on the team, I also visited a football academy and undertook participatory action research with the young football stars, identified some communication strategies, and made recommendations.

What effects RTK has had so far:
Even in its few months in Ghana, RTK has made some impact. We young people who are now part of the team have benefited from capacity building and empowerment. In a meeting yesterday, the research assistants noted several things they liked about the initiative:

• RTK gives us a chance to know what our peers know.
• Many strategies for reaching young people with information on sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS are made available to us.
• It gives young people a chance, no matter where they are, to receive the information that they have the right to know.
• It enhances our skills in facilitation.
• It helps build our social lives—we get to know what HIV-positive people go through and learn to relate to them without discrimination, et cetera.

This is not to say that there are no hitches. There obviously are such issues as logistical provision, motivational mechanism for unemployed volunteers, our ability to reach individuals in their respective languages, cultures, and social life, et cetera. Our research assistants have noted frustrations with such things as the time-consuming nature of the work and the unavailability of adequate resource materials. However, as time goes on and more issues come up, I feel they would be addressed appropriately, and I will continue to work on this initiative for as long as possible to ensure its success.