Partnering to Keep Youth Safe: A Unique Partnership Helps Youth from Remote Towns Learn about Modern Family Planning and Reproductive Health Practices

and Peace Corps volunteers in Ukraine. This partnership aims to improve the health of women, men, and families in Ukraine by promoting modern family planning and reproductive health practices. In the small town of Derazhnya, Ukraine, a Peace Corps volunteer named Becky Robinson sought to provide teaching materials on sexual education, family planning, and reproductive health to the local school psychologist. Becky's search led her to the USAID Together for Health website, where she found professionally developed, culturally sensitive teaching and informational materials in the native language, Ukrainian. These materials were crucial in addressing the cultural stigma surrounding discussions of family planning and reproductive health in Ukraine, where the rate of unwanted teenage pregnancies remains high, particularly in rural areas. The Together for Health project provided Becky with a range of information, education, and communication (IEC) materials, which she presented and discussed with the school psychologist, Tetyana Solomyana. Tetyana used these materials to teach the school's first sexual education class, marking a significant step in promoting healthy lifestyles among high school students. Recognizing the value of Together for Health's thorough curricula and IEC materials, Becky and Tetyana helped organize a workshop for psychologists from neighboring schools, which was taught by a trainer from Together for Health. Over the next six months, Together for Health provided materials to 12 more Peace Corps volunteers located throughout Ukraine at their request. This partnership has enabled the dissemination of critical information about family planning and reproductive health to remote areas, where access to such information is limited. The project's success has also laid the foundation for continued use of the Together for Health materials, which will remain available on the website after the project's scheduled end in November 2011. The partnership between Together for Health and Peace Corps volunteers has grown stronger with each passing day, with the project materials spreading to more remote cities in Ukraine. Most recently, Together for Health trainers were invited to conduct interactive classes and games for boys and girls at the Peace Corps summer camp held in the Carpathians. This unique partnership serves as an example of successful collaboration for future projects, demonstrating the potential for effective partnerships in promoting healthy lifestyles and improving the health of women, men, and families in Ukraine.