In 2018, when we first launched our sexual education program in Guatemala, I pushed for us to work with preadolescents. Of course, I knew how important it was to provide sexual education to the teenagers in the community, as they navigated relationship, sexuality, and all the questions of adolescence. But what about the 9 year olds with their first period? What about the 12 year old whose voice keeps cracking? What were we doing to help ease the transition from childhood to adolescence?
It wasn't the time then, and that was okay. It was part of the expansion we kept dreaming of as we built relationships with partner schools, worked with youth, trained teachers and made a name for ourselves. As 2019 came to a close, we were well known as the place to go if you had questions about sexuality. I left to return to college.
In 2020, instead of returning to Guatemala as I had planned, I hunkered down during the first months of the pandemic at my parents' house in Wisconsin. With the help of GYI's director, I decided to focus those quiet months on building the foundation for the program that I had been mulling over for the past 2 years. And so, Pubertad Positiva began to take shape.
I spent those months researching best practice, interviewing youth leaders, collaborating with NGOs all over Latin America, and planning lessons. It was hard for me to have all of this time and ideas and not be able to put any of it into practice. But slowly but surely, I built up the curriculum for some distant future where I would be able to be face to face with the kids again. 12 workshops over 3 years, from 4th grade to 6th grade. Then I put the whole thing away and finished college.
In 2021, I felt like it was finally the time to get started with our work with preadolescents. Although most schools in Guatemala were still closed to in-person learning, some after school groups and sports teams had returned to outdoor events. I began working with a couple of groups--a boy's soccer team, a community group for girls. I had to adjust all of my "classroom based" lessons to a more flexible format. I mean, no one brings a notebook and a pencil to soccer practice right? These experiences pushed me, and the rest of the sexual education team, to think more outside the box than ever.
2022 finally brought the Pubertad Postiva program into elementary school classrooms. I started working with a couple different schools, more NGOs and after school programs, and more. I can't tell you how incredible it felt to see these workshops in action. Suddenly, over a hundred preadolescents were racing to put the steps in order for how to put on a pad in schools all over the community. Students were competing to complete the reproductive anatomy activity, full of excitement. They corrected each other with correct vocabulary : "That's not where the vagina goes, duh!" and "No, it's normal for boys to have wet dreams, we already talked about that!!"
Over the past couple of months, I've found great joy in being with 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th graders. I've talked about what to do when the person you like doesn't like you back. I've talked about consent and listened to young people describe their experiences with harassment. I've answered questions about periods, body hair, sexual orientation, and more. I never received real puberty education when I was their age, and every time I go into schools, I feel like it's right.
It's clear now just how important it is to work with the younger crew. If we want 15 year olds to engage in healthy relationships, we need to be speaking about consent at 9 and 10. If we want girls to understand their bodies, menstruation, and pregnancy, we need to work with them at 8 years old. The time is now, and I couldn't be more grateful to be a part of this process.