Puberty, Relationships, and Rights: Lessons in Sexual Health with BLA and Katie Christensen
On a frosty day in September or October 2022, at the Starbucks on 45th Street in Fargo, ND, Baraza La Afrika's (BLA) founders, Jules and Cleophace, convened with two unfamiliar faces, Alicia Balay and her friend Sergam. The purpose of their meeting was to discuss Baraza La Afrika's mission—a nascent organization in the FM metro area. Notably, the founders brought a decade of experience from their tenure with the Vermont Ibutwa Initiative, Inc. in Vermont.
A few months prior to this encounter, Baraza La Afrika received a modest grant of $10,000.00 from the State of North Dakota (North Dakota, Health & Human Services under the State Refugee Health Coordinator). This grant was aimed at enhancing the mental health and well-being of Congolese refugee women, with a focus on areas such as yoga/mindfulness, mental health, and the facts and myths of sexual health education.
Ruth Nwatu, the North Dakota Community Engagement Coordinator intern, recently announced that BLA was awarded a $20,000.00 grant for the ‘My Body My Right/Sexual Health Education Among African-Born Persons Project.’ Building on the prior weeks' emphasis on yoga/mindfulness, mental health, and the facts and myths of sexual health education, this new initiative aims to further empower and educate African-born individuals on sexual health rights and education. The project reflects a commitment to comprehensive well-being and aligns with Baraza La Afrika's ongoing efforts to support the health and resilience of the community.
Upon my relocation to the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, I encountered numerous individuals questioning the presence of a substantial Congolese population. Although the community did exist, its members were predominantly engrossed in their daily lives, striving to provide for their families. For BLA, the mission extended beyond mere existence; it aimed to create opportunities for the Congolese community, acknowledging that such opportunities were accessible to some but not to all. In today's narrative, we delve into the personal experience of Katie Christensen, the North Dakota State Director of External Affairs, with Baraza.
In August, my colleagues and I received a request to assist a small local non-profit with a project aimed at increasing youth’s understanding of sexual health and relationships through a grant with ND HHS. This initial request led to numerous Zoom meetings and email exchanges discussing various lessons, content, videos, and activities. Cleophace provided feedback on cultural appropriateness and relevancy. My colleagues and I made the adaptions. After receiving approval from Cleophace, we met with the youth for the first time at the end of that month.
In our first three sessions with Baraza La Afrika, we’ve covered many important topics related to health and wellbeing, In our first session, we talked about sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology. The students started by brainstorming strategies for caring for our bodies, such as eating healthy food, wearing seatbelts, and brushing our teeth. From there, we acknowledged that caring for our sexual and reproductive health is just as important as caring for the rest of our body. We discussed how to care for body parts, what’s normal, when to see a doctor, how to manage menstruation, etc.
After the students had a strong understanding of anatomy and physiology, we were able to delve into puberty and development for our second session. We began by talking about the hormonal changes that happen in our bodies, which are oftentimes unknown at first, and then those internal changes drive the external changes that are more noticeable. We talked about the value of knowing what’s normal and what’s to be expected to prevent body shame.
Since puberty brings new bodily responsibilities, we sent home supplies such as soap, menstrual products, deodorant, and body wash. Puberty can also lead some youth to have new feelings towards others, which is why we also talked about consent during this lesson.
The third time that we met with the students, we moved away from the biology of the body and talked about relationships and teen dating violence. We started the session by reading a Relationship Bill of Rights – a set of rights that young people deserve, such as feeling safe, being heard, being able to leave a relationship, etc. This set the stage for the students to consider what they want and don’t want in friendships and romantic relationships. In small groups, the students were given sets of cards with different relationship scenarios. They worked with their peers to decide which scenarios represent healthy vs unhealthy characteristics. As a large group, we read a choose-your-own-adventure story from an activity called In Their Shoes. The main character of the story – Derek – was in a relationship with a classmate named Charlene. The activity presents a situation, and then the students choose from two options what they’d like Derek to do. For instance, one scenario involved a disagreement over text between Derek and Charlene. The students could opt to have Derek continue with his homework or invite Charlene over to talk. As the story progressed, the students identified strategies that Charlene used to gain power and control over Derek. At the conclusion of the story, we discussed what Derek needed to get out of this unhealthy relationship.
The students decided that he needed to understand red flags earlier in the relationship, he needed his friend to support him when he expressed concerns, he needed his coach to listen more instead of making jokes, etc.
Based on my three sessions with these youth, I see much growth and development in their understanding of bodily autonomy, their rights and boundaries, and their communication ability. These students ask amazing questions that tell me that they are interested in the topic, hear myths and facts from their peers, and desire to learn.
By: Baraza La Afrika (Cleophace Mukeba) & Katie Christensen