A conversation with YouthPower Action’s Kristin Brady about Programa Para O Futuro-Mozambique

YouthPower Action has had two phases of programming in Mozambique that have applied the PYD approach. Phase 1 of YouthPower Action applied a PYD lens to an existing program for orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), with a focus on adolescents 10–18 and youth heads of households, while continuing to provide OVC support services using a household approach. Phase 1 started in October 2015 and ended in September 2016. 

Programa Para O Futuro-Mozambique (PPFuturo-MZ) is the second phase of the YouthPower Action implementation project to protect and support OVCs and youth heads of households that have been affected by HIV/AIDs in Mozambique by applying a PYD lens. Phase 2 began in October 2016 and will end in March, 2018. 
 
YouthPower Learning: Did you decide from the outset to start with a PYD approach?
 
YouthPower Action: With Phase 1 of YP Action Mozambique we deliberately decided to use a PYD approach. Phase 2 of YP Action, PPFuturo-MZ, is an expansion of a program that began in 2010 and builds on an approach we first implemented in Recife, Brazil many years earlier.  PPFuturo-MZ is a holistic youth development program that uses a PYD approach.  That activity began in 2010.  While the program always had PYD elements in it, such as an e-mentoring program to provide youth with supportive adult relationships and role models from the world of work, additional PYD features were added over time.   
 
YouthPower Learning: Is there a success story from Phase 1 that particularly stands out?
 
YouthPower Action: In general, we found a hunger for learning about adolescent development and how to support adolescents. One personal story of the importance of understanding adolescence was told by one of the community health workers, who said that the training opened her eyes to her own role as a parent.  She said she always thought that her job as a parent was to police her daughter, but through the program she learned about the importance of communicating with and supporting her daughter. She told staff that the program helped her save her relationship with her daughter.  On a larger scale, one of the most successful activities we introduced was study groups for adolescents. The community health workers, with guidance from teachers, helped organize small study groups with a mix of youth with different skills and knowledge, so that they could help each other. The groups were very popular, particularly among girls.
 
YouthPower Learning: You had some incredible results from the first phase of this work, in a very short period of time. How are you applying the knowledge gained from that work in Phase 2?
 
YouthPower Action: Phase 1 was a large scale program that primarily was focused on helping identify youth and family members with high needs, ensuring they reached appropriate government services, and creating a deeper understanding of youth development. Phase 2 is a smaller scale, more intensive program that includes employability and work readiness, reinforcement of basic education skills, e-mentoring, internship and youth-led clubs. 
 
One significant impact from Phase 1 on Phase 2 has been the creation of parent groups. During Phase 1, we created support groups for parents of adolescents and held structured discussion around parenting of adolescents. PPFuturo-MZ (Phase 2) always had parent outreach meetings to help parents understand the program, but, based on the feedback from Phase 1, we decided to create a structured program for parents to help them understand adolescent development and how to parent during this phase of life. Focus groups with parents who participated in these groups reported that they improved their communication with youth, learned about the importance of being involved with their youth’s education, and developed a more positive impression of the young person in their care. 
 
YouthPower Learning: We are particularly interested in how you are engaging young people to help their peers. Can you explain more about how you are doing that?
 
YouthPower Action: In Phase 1, we involved youth in youth-led community mapping, supported youth in designing and implementing health fairs, involved youth in Youth Score Cards to assess the quality of youth services, and helped Children’s Community Protection Committees bring youth into the Committees to serve as members and have a voice on the Committee. In Phase 2, youth are involved in most aspects of the program, from developing the code of conduct for youth, defining their roles and responsibilities and taking an active role in maintaining the learning space and equipment in good condition, and by being able to decide how to go about every learning activity and participating in decision making on issues that affect them within the program. We also created Youth Clubs for graduates of the program. The youth identify the priorities of three clubs and decide on activities they want to implement.  Most of the club activities focus on community service. Youth also carry out peer education through regular activities where they share what they learned during the program with peers in the community. 
 
YouthPower Learning: What kind of stigma are these young people encountering and how are you addressing that?
 
YouthPower Action: Most of the youth have been impacted by HIV/AIDs, have lost one or both parents and are economically vulnerable, and they feel that the stigma of being vulnerable limits them. We address this through a number of ways: (1) learning activities in the curriculum early in the program help youth discuss that stigma and develop strategies to address it; (2) exposing youth to PPFuturo-MZ graduates from similar backgrounds who have succeeded in work or education that show youth that one can overcome the perceived barriers; (3) providing uniforms that give youth an identity of belonging to a highly desired program and a way of hiding their poverty; and (4) helping youth build self-confidence. We often find that youth are very timid when they begin the program and some feel invisible in school or in their community.  By the end of the program, their communication skills and self-esteem has increased dramatically and they are empowered, rather than feeling limited by their vulnerability. 
 
YouthPower Learning: What would you say are the most critical factors for the success of Phase 2?
 
YouthPower Action: A recent study of the program in which youth ranked the different elements of the program found that the curriculum, particularly the focus on soft skills and work readiness, the project-based learning methodology, the relationship between youth and the program facilitators, and youth participation were all ranked as important. On a much simpler level, one PPFuturo-MZ graduate recently reflected on the importance of having a place where youth could express themselves and communicate with others, in contrast to their home or school lives, where there is very little communication.    

Want to learn more about designing a PYD approach in programs?

Discuss

Your name