I believe that in a country as small yet as global as Jamaica it is of utmost importance that our young people be made aware of issues that affect their sexual and reproductive health.

Maxsalia, 22, works with Advocates for Youth and the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network as a part of the International Youth Speak Out project.

I am very passionate about addressing youth sexual and reproductive health issues. My journey as an advocate for youth sexual and reproductive health and rights started in high school when I was trained as peer educator. Since then I have had several opportunities to impart knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights to my peers. I am motivated by my knowledge of the seriousness and the long term effects of HIV/AIDS on my country, as well as my passion for the advocacy of youth rights.

I believe that in a country as small yet as global as Jamaica it is of utmost importance that our young people be made aware of issues that affect their sexual and reproductive health, as this has far reaching implications for other areas of life. I am currently a JSTAR council member working on the International Youth Speak Out project. Since my involvement with the project I have advocated internationally for youth participation in the decision making process at the Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF7) held in November 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago and has also been involved in campus tours in the US which included lobbying US senators on policies related to international sexual and reproductive health issues.

It’s my dream for the youth of my country and by extension the world to realize how important it is that we seek to make healthy, well informed decisions, not only as it relates to SRHR issues but in life on a whole. My philosophy can be summed up in a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr which states ‘An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.’