My name is Catherine Nassanga, and I am 23 years old. While volunteering with MildMay in 2021, I was introduced to CEHURD through a friend. Growing up as the only girl in my family, I used to be shy, which negatively impacted my self-esteem. However, through CEHURD’s interventions, I gained confidence and now speak to many fellow young people as an advocate.

CEHURD trained me in advocacy for young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including budgeting, gender-based violence, gender justice, human rights-based approaches, and HIV/AIDS. In my community, young girls often faced early pregnancies, forced early marriages, or unsafe abortions due to a lack of SRHR knowledge and support.

After being empowered by CEHURD and learning about the right to demand better health services, I gained the confidence to support girls facing SRHR challenges. CEHURD’s interventions also helped me decide to pursue a course in counseling and guidance to speak to young people from a more informed background.

The advocacy spaces CEHURD provided have given me a platform to reach out to young people with SRHR knowledge and engage with policymakers to voice issues affecting youth. I have actively participated in budgeting processes, raising young people’s priorities for the national budget. During a Universal Periodic Review meeting, I argued that denying young people access to contraceptives does a disservice to them, as many are secretly or forcefully engaging in sexual activities.

I call upon other civil society organizations to provide advocacy spaces for young people to raise issues to responsible stakeholders. I also hope that CEHURD continues to support young people with this crucial information. This year, I set a target to reach out to at least 50 young people per day with SRHR knowledge and information through my youth corner at the Mildmay facility in Lweza Kajjansi, and I have reached over 7,000 young people so far.

I envision a society where gender-based violence against girls ends with my generation.