A day in the life of a JIRo Activist in Angola, how young people are leading behaviour change
Gender equality is reflected under Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda, in 9 goals and 14 indicators that work together to achieve all 17 global goals aimed at empowering all women and girls.
"The problem that the girls go through is that they are discriminated against, they are judged... and then for some reasons, they feel they have to help the house,so they get involved with certain people..." says Daniela Isabel Raimundo Ngunza, a 26-year-old volunteer activist of the JIRO (Responsible and Organized Informed Youth) group in Viana, the municipality where she resides in the province of Luanda, Angola.
Daniela joined JIRO after having been approached by activists herself, and since then, she helps young people in her community. Her work is crucial. In Luanda, 40% of young people between 12 and 19 years old have used alcohol, and the average age of first sexual intercourse is 14 years old. 41% of girls of the same age have already had a pregnancy. (Study carried out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 2016, in partnership with UNFPA).
“My daily life as an activist is being in the field, talking to young people so that they can change their behavior,” says Daniela. JIRO is a UNFPA supported program of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and integrates the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. JIRO was first launched in 1997 and it aims to promote positive behaviors in youths and adolescents through education on sexual and reproductive health including on family planning, gender, STI/HIV.
JIRO's team went to celebrate International Girl's Day 2021 with girls from the municipality of Cacuaco, in the Mayombe neighborhood, with all the services the program offers including community jango, women's behavior change community talks, counseling and HIV testing, music, dance and awareness raising. Daniela was one of the activists who participated.
Daniela was born in Luanda, and from an early age wanted to be trained as a doctor so that she could take care of people. Her path was riddled with difficulties, but even though she could not complete her nursing training, Daniela has become an entrepreneur. She continues to care for and support other women from her community, bringing knowledge about topics related to youth and in particular to women. Today, the world has opened up, bringing communities closer and closer through the digital world, which makes information available to everyone. For Daniela, the contact with digital has made her have a broader vision of the world and she feels empowered through the information available on digital platforms.
“One of the great benefits that digital brought to my life was knowledge. Today I know a lot that before I had no idea.”
The partnership between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and UNFPA is further investing in mobile apps and technology like SMS-Jovem/U-Report to reach young people and adolescents with key SRH and life saving information to realize their human rights. Daniela wishes to see a world where women are well informed so that they can achieve their goals, so she keeps working towards this dream.
