Meet Wacha Roosevelt, Youth Ambassador for #IAHW2023, from Bamenda, Cameroon.
“As a teacher with five years of experience, I've seen too many of my students forced to drop out of school due to unplanned pregnancies - 15, to be exact. In Cameroon, it is still taboo for some parents to talk about sex and sexuality with their children, leaving them to rely on their peers for information, which is often unreliable or even dangerous.
That's why I became involved with Youth 2 Youth – Cameroon, a group that advocates for better access to sexual and reproductive health information. We've been working hard to reach out to schools, churches, and communities through radio talks, and we even created an app that offers an ovulation calendar, geolocational services, and comprehensive sexual health information that adolescents can use to access safe medical services.
I'm passionate about creating a community where every young person is empowered with the knowledge they need to make healthy decisions about their bodies and their futures.
In Cameroon, that means pushing for comprehensive sexuality education to be included in the school curriculum - a step that I believe is essential for building a better, healthier future for us all.”
Stories of Young People for Change
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Starting with https://zonderbkr.com and similar youth health advocacy efforts, what stands out here is how the app bridges the gap between information and actual access to safe services. Fifteen students lost to unplanned pregnancies is a staggering number for one teacher to witness, and it makes the case for comprehensive sexuality education in schools feel urgent rather than theoretical. I've noticed that when parents avoid these conversations, peers fill the void with misinformation, so structured outreach through radio and churches seems like a smart way to reach families where the taboo runs deepest.