Amira El-Noshokaty attends the graduation of a group of women whose job it is to demystify sexual health in the Egyptian Delta Click to view caption When Iman Ramadan began attending New Horizons Programme training sessions, she thought that discussing issues related to marriage and sex with young girls was inappropriate. "I told the doctor who was training us that because our girls are unaware of such matters they do not engage in indecent behaviour. They just get married and live happily," recalled Ramadan. "'You are wrong' my instructor told me, pointing out that the vice squad has no shortage of work. That's when I began to change my point of view," she added. Ramadan graduated as a trainer in her own right last week, one of 44 facilitators who comprise the programme's first class from the Delta and she is now a volunteer at the Qwesna Community Development non-governmental organisation (NGO) in addition to being a facilitator for the New Horizons Programme. In an effort to improve the status of girls and young women, the Centre For Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) in cooperation with partner NGOs developed the New Horizons Programme, a USAID-funded curriculum taught outside of the school system for girls aged nine to 20 years. The newly graduated facilitators, all of them holders of secondary school certificates, are now expected to "demystify and communicate essential information pertaining to basic life skills and reproductive health essential to making informed life decisions", one of the programme's brochures explains. Towards this end, two training manuals have been developed, the contents of which cover a wide array of issues ranging from nutrition, health, pregnancy and family planning to managing small enterprises. The programme syllabus comprises 100 sessions that are taught using a kit of colourfully illustrated posters and audio tapes on which poetry and dramas are recorded. "The topics were carefully selected to address our target groups about whom information was obtained through surveys that have been conducted since the mid-nineties," explained one USAID source who preferred anonymity. Sessions are designed to convey information in a clear and concise manner. But for all the careful planning, the trainer's job is not an easy one. According to Heba Eid, a newly graduated facilitator from Sharqiya governorate: "A mother of one of the girls in my class said I was teaching girls indecent things and refused to let her daughter join the classes. So I visited the mother and we had a long talk. I explained that since her daughter has reached puberty, it is better to teach her scientific information on the subject of sex." The result? The following morning Amira and also Hala, the girl's neighbour, attended the New Horizons class. And the number of attendees is increasing. Even so, Ramadan continually comes up against the cultural barrier. "We were discussing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and how it is a widespread negative practice that is without a religious basis," Ramadan recalled. During her first class, which numbered 17 students ranging in ages from 11 to 13, one girl stood up and argued that her mother had told her otherwise and that FGM was only done to prevent problems in a girl's future marital relations. After discussing the matter at length with mother and daughter, I was able to convince them to spare the girl circumcision." Although designed to address illiterate girls, the New Horizons programme has also been successful with literate participants. "We help young girls relate to the subject," explained Ramadan as she showed me a little blue teddy bear that popped out of her bag. "As we teach them about maternity and child care, one of their assignments is to make soft sponge teddy bears by way of teaching the girls about appropriate toys for small children", she explained. The programme has also touched the lives of young facilitators. Iman, who teaches literacy classes as well, proudly held up a big piece of pink cardboard, a magazine to be displayed on the wall announcing New Horizons' achievements in her governorate. "Now I am not only working to eradicate illiteracy", she boasted, "I am helping to eradicate cultural ignorance as well." "We ourselves have learnt a lot from being facilitators in this programme," explained Inas Shaalan, "We learnt about developing self confidence in a community where a girl usually has no say in family matters. The communication skills that were emphasised throughout the training sessions made it possible for us to voice our own choices." "One is usually afraid of anything new," explained Rasha Omar, a facilitator from Al-Mahalla Al-Kobra, "However, our programme was a success even though it was conducted 100 per cent by women, which goes to show that girls can do anything that boys can." Since 1996, New Horizons has graduated over 2,000 community leaders nationwide. Doaa Abdel-Rahman, a facilitator, concluded, "Indeed changing a person and a value-system is very difficult" -- but, it would seem, not impossible.
