JULY UPDATE EMPOWERING YOUTH LEADERS

These young men and women are the faces of a more hopeful future for their generation in Santa Cruz. They are participating in a yearlong training program that prepares them to be leaders and educators for their peers in sexual and reproductive health. With the training they receive, they will go back into their respective villages to share what they have learned, encouraging young people to make informed decisions about their bodies and their future. The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented Amigos staff from running our normal in-person youth leadership workshops, yet we continue to provide small group and online trainings that ensure young people have an outlet to ask questions, raise their voices, and learn to be positive leaders of change in their community.

The Amigos Team Receives COVID-19 Vaccine We are very happy to share that 47 members of the Amigos staff and collaborators received their first dosis of the COVID-19 vaccine in July! While vaccine rollout has been very slow in Guatemala, it became available to educators and educational institutions this month. It is a huge relief that our team members are now protected and can continue to serve the public safely. Our team also now serves as an example to other community members who are hesitant about getting vaccinated. We will continue to assist the local government-run health center to conduct public advocacy and awareness campaigns to encourage those who are eligible to get vaccinated.

First Aid Training to Prepare for Emergencies Following the tragic gas explosion in May that caused the loss of our dear Amigos colleague, Alba, we are now organizing first aid trainings in our CECAP training center. The goal of these trainings is to help ensure that Amigos staff and community members are better prepared to respond to emergencies, particularly given our remote location and difficulty accessing medical services. These trainings were first made available to Amigos instructors and teachers, and we hope to expand them to other community leaders in the coming weeks and months.

amigosdesantacruz.org info@amigosdensantacruz.org

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