Helen: I am a baker, but not of cake
Twenty-one year old Helen from Zambia is part of a group of young people working together to tackle menstrual poverty, teenage pregnancy and child marriage in their community.The youth-led group call themselves the 'Petauke Youth Bakers', not because they bake any goodies but because they take information and 'bake' it so that it can be easily shared with other young people.
Realising that most of the information available on these issues was in English, the group began to translate (‘bake’) key messages into the local language so that they could be easily shared and understood. Recognising that most young people in their community listen to the local radio station, the group decided to host their own radio talk show to highlight some of the key issues affecting young people.
“In our community we have many problems like teenage pregnancy, early marriage and poverty. We wanted to address these issues through our activities by forming the youth group,” says Helen, who is one of the founding members of the Petauke Youth Bakers.
How it all began
Petauke was formed after Helen and her friends attended a training session on sexual and reproductive health and rights and decided to form a youth group to share their learnings on the harms of child marriage and early pregnancy for girls and young women with their community.
In order to reach a wider audience, and realising that most young people in their community listen to the local radio station, the young people decided to approach the station with a proposal for a new youth programme.
“We didn’t have any programmes suitable for young people, and our audience also wanted more youth programming. Since the Youth Bakers started their programme, it has become a very popular programme on our station.”
Helen and her colleagues meet every week to prepare their scripts, and they broadcast their show every Friday. They have produced 73 episodes of their talk show so far, and they also have a Facebook page where they post discussion topics to encourage young people to get more involved.
“Our radio show is entertainment with a serious message,” explains Helen. “When we came up with the idea, we called it edutainment. Through the radio talk show, we educate young people in a fun way. The training and information we received has given us confidence and knowledge, so we speak up.”
Founded in 2022, the Petauke Youth Bakers started with just 10 youth members and has now grown to 52 members (24 boys and 28 girls). Thanks to their training, done with Plan International under of their Break Free project, that seeks to ensure youth exercise their right to live free from child marriage and teenage pregnancy, the group is more confident and empowered in sharing their learnings with other youth.
“The training and information we received has given us confidence and knowledge, so we speak up.”
Helen
The group has also set up an adolescent-friendly space in a room provided by the district hospital, where they meet twice a week to discuss their work.
“We also sew reusable sanitary pads. There are three boys and two girls who make them. This shows that boys now feel more comfortable talking about menstruation, which is very rare in our community.”
Categories: Sexual and reproductive health and rights, Youth empowerment
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