You Are Cared For (YACF) is an audio visual initiative of Black Girls Glow, that uses art and pop culture as a sexual health advocacy tool. Teenage pregnancy in Ghana has increased by a huge percentage in the last 4 years. “Teenage pregnancy” is the all-encompassing term, but girls as young as 9 years old are getting pregnant in huge numbers, year after year in Ghana.
Spanning across a range of topics including sexual harassment, sex anatomy, menstruation, consent, sexual reproductive anatomy, masturbation, contraception, sex and relationships, pregnancy, STIs, and safe sex, YACF uses art and pop culture to create tone specific and culture inclusive material. We use both traditional and digital tools and media as a means of creating educational content. The objective of this project is to make easily accessible and consumable sexual health educational content for different age groups, and by so doing increase awareness, arm people with the knowledge they need to know, reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy, STIs, sexual exploitation and other negative elements related to sex and sexuality.
We partner with schools and community centers to deliver YACF workshops directly to students. Throughout 2023, YACF made great strides. In April, our debut school tour reached students in the Greater Accra and Volta Regions. We provided comprehensive sexual health education using creative videos and materials, partnering with teachers to create a positive learning environment. This experience highlighted the need for culturally-appropriate materials, prompting the translation of presentations into the local Ewe dialect. YACF concluded the year with a successful public launch at the SilverBird Cinemas in Accra.
