Grateful for the support and guidance provided by the youth arm of the GuyanaParticipants of the GRPA sexual and reproductive health workshop.Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) at a sexual and reproductive health workshop, were a number of women who experienced the difficulties of teenage pregnancy.The workshop was hosted Sunday at the Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown. The event saw the participation of youths from several organizations. It focused on engaging young people on effective and strategic methods for improving the state of sexual and reproductive health education in Guyana.In attendance at the workshop were representatives from the GRPA’s youth coalition body Women Across Differences (WAD). The group’s work focuses on creating a support system for women and girls affected by teenage pregnancy. Over the years, WAD’s work has included capacity building programmes targeted at adolescent pregnancy.Some programme participants included women who experienced pregnancy at a young age. Of these women were Makeda Peroune and Makeda Gornette, who shared their experiences as young pregnant adolescents.However, despite the troubles both women faced in the past, they said that their stories did have brighter outcomes. In their words,Wholesale Jerseys USA, they could not have made it through those times without the help and support from WAD.Moreover, organizations like GRPA and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also provided the necessary services that assisted them in improving their education and “real world” skills.Gornette told those in attendance that her pregnancy forced her to drop out of school. The hardest part of the experience was the stigmatization she faced on a daily basis by colleagues and friends. Her status as a secondary school dropout also compounded her problems,Authentic NFL Jerseys Cheap, as she admitted that it was very hard to find proper employment.However, after she discovered the services of GRPA and UNFPA, she discovered that she could turn her experiences into an avenue for other adolescent girls to learn from. She subsequently became involved with WAD.The group, at the struggling time of Gornette’s life, provided an environment which fostered character development, for her and other girls in similar situations. WAD taught Gornette how to work and educate other young girls on the effects of teenage pregnancy, along with preventative methods.Gornette revealed that the group created a support system which helped her through her darkest times. Whenever she was close to giving up on herself Gornette related, that she would remember a saying one of her WAD peers told her, “Move up and not down, Makeda. And if you’re moving up, move to success.”Since being part of the group,Wholesale Jerseys China, Gornette has begun to pursue her studies in Social Work,Wholesale China NFL Jerseys, and continues to advise adolescent girls about the effects of teen pregnancy. She hopes that her work can decrease underage birthrates in the country.Other women also revealed that when they were close to giving up GRPA, WAD and UNFPA,Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys, these organisations provided the encouragement and support to better their lives, not only for themselves but for their children too.