"Women now have confidence"

“Women have made great progress. They’ve been able to remove the blindfolds over their eyes and say, ‘My husband hits me,’ and file a complaint”

“My struggle as a youth has not been easy. I always wanted to do something to organize local youth, but it was hard.

We met a few times, but then everyone would go back to their private lives and we’d forget about each other. There came a time when I felt that the youth in the community had disappeared, and that’s when I got the idea of forming a youth group.

I spread information around to other youths, and in June 2008 we met again to talk about our issues and the goals that we’d like to reach in the near future. There were thirty of us. I really felt that this training was worthwhile.

I’ve tried to transfer the energy and encouragement I’ve received from UCA-San Ramón and Fundación Desafíos to the other youths in my group. In this way, we’ve met more frequently and we hope to become a youth cooperative.

Before this effort began, there was no youth group. Kids were out drinking alcohol, and 10-, 11- and 12-year-old children were smoking. Now they’re all enthusiastic about the organization. This is a big achievement: getting kids out, giving them better alternatives. I think that’s one of the most significant steps.

We have wielded a lot of influence over the construction of a youth agenda. We’ve placed the problems that affect us as youth on this agenda, and we’ve made it clear that these problems really affect us. You can see that we’re on the right path and we may end up being very successful.

Our main struggle right now is to ensure better health for women. Training for women has been a positive influence because there were women who felt ashamed to get Pap tests. There were some women who said, ‘I’d rather die than have other people touching me and looking at me.’ With the training coordinated through UCA-San Ramón, many of these women now get their exams and have gynecological check-ups. They speak up. They say, ‘My rights are being violated,’ and things like that.

Women now have the confidence to say, ‘This is what’s happening to me. This is what I’m going through.’ Women have made great progress. They’ve been able to remove the blindfolds over their eyes and say, ‘My husband hits me,’ and file a complaint.

I never thought that all of these opportunities would help us so much in our efforts to counter machismo.”