Let Us Not Be Victims Anymore… Let Us Be Victorious!
The Global Citizens’ Dialogue gives citizens a platform to voice their concerns, solutions, and criticisms. This blog series presents highlights from the 3rd Annual Global Citizens’ Dialogue, which was held during the 70th World Health Assembly and brought together adolescents and youth from Bolivia, Nepal, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda and the Philippines with health ministers and other leaders.
My name is Aide Berrios Peña and I am proud to represent the adolescents and youth of my country … especially the Bolivian girls.
I had the opportunity to participate in the 3rd Annual Global Citizens’ Dialogue at the World Health Assembly (WHA), sharing my story and explaining that we all need to support teenage mothers, girls that have suffered or are still suffering from violence, pregnant adolescents, and teenagers that look for information about family planning.
Let us not be victims anymore of so much violence, damage, silence. Let us be victorious! Let us fight together to break the chain of fear and silence — and so much violence. And let us fight for our dreams. Nothing is impossible!
It was an incredible experience to be able to transmit the daily struggle adolescents and youth face in Bolivia to health leaders from all around the world and to see that they really listened to me.
In Bolivia, we need to ensure adequate investment in children and set up educational and health programs to prevent more teenage pregnancies. And, we have to invest in health programs for adolescents so that they receive the support and care they need, as well as appropriate guidance.
With my presence at the WHA, I also wanted to give strength to other girls from Bolivia - and all around the world - that suffer or have suffered violence. Let us not be victims anymore of so much violence, damage, silence. Let us be victorious! Let us fight together to break the chain of fear and silence — and so much violence. And let us fight for our dreams. Nothing is impossible!
Now, more than ever, I feel that I am the engineer of my life!
I want to thank God, my family, the school and university, and Save the Children, for having trained and supported me in so many ways so that I can achieve my deepest desires, the objective to speak in Geneva, representing my beloved Bolivia. And, maybe being able to change the reality in my country.
I feel the strength to keep fighting, for myself, and for the people that need support the most. There are no words to describe the happiness, satisfaction and emotion I feel right now. It is incredible!
The days pass and I’ll pose myself more and more objectives because now, more than ever, I feel that I am the engineer of my life!
In 2014, a group of civil society organizations, including World Vision, Save the Children, White Ribbon Alliance and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, began working together to advance citizen engagement and citizen-led accountability for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health at local, national and global levels. Since then, the Coalition has supported more than a thousand citizen hearings in more than 22 countries across the world, giving citizens the opportunity to be heard on matters about their own health, and share their recommendations for how health care can be improved in their community, district and country.
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