Peer pressure is often used in a negative way to lower young people’s self esteem and lead them to their own demise, but two young ladies of Cayo, both in their twenties, are using peer pressure positively, to improve the situation of young people in their communities and to help them make better choices in life.

Doris Dougal, 27, and Gloria Avila, 21, are doing an exceptional job of focusing their time and efforts to inspire positive change. Both young women are international business students at the Sacred Heart Junior College in San Ignacio, Cayo.

Doris additionally minors in marketing. She said that she chose the international business major because she feels it will be a good way of entering the work force. But as she prepares herself for her future profession, she is also working voluntarily with the Youth for the Future arm in Cayo, along with district coordinator Marleni Hernandez. Doris is a peer educator.

“We recruit out-of-school youth,” she informed

The YFF provides positive reinforcement and conducts sessions on small business and HIV/AIDS at different times of the year.

Doris Dougal told us that her work with young people began five years ago.

“In about 2001, I was invited by a friend to go on a trip to Mexico, but I couldn’t make it. He said it was very nice. They had a youth officer in Cayo, and he said go check her out,” she recollected.

This motivated her and she found a place where she could constructively use her energies to reach out to other young people.

“I went and sat in workshops. It was very interesting and I gained a lot of knowledge,” she added.

But it wasn’t just about what she had learnt. Doris had the opportunity to meet new people and see how they really benefit from the programs.

Now, Doris has designed her own project to help youth, and she has decided to focus her energy on battling against crime and violence.

As a member of UNICEF’s Xchange movement, she recently received funding for her mediation program. Her aim is to help troubled youth change their lifestyle for the better.

It’s her first such attempt to gather young people off the streets to have a sit down with police and the community rehabilitation officer, Melissa Miralda.

Doris has a personal interest in the success of the program, because she knows some of the people who have put the community on edge with their misdeeds. Her targets are persons aged 11 to 21—people who are tied up in gang life or who commit crimes such as stealing.

Doris’s strategy is to visit the bases or “hang out” spots and invite the youth to have a mediation session with Ms. Miralda, the police, herself and other youth.

Her hope is that this noble effort will reduce the incidences of crime and make San Ignacio/Santa Elena a safer place.

Doris Dougal is also concerned about the scarcity of jobs, and notes that in order to improve the situation of our youth, there is the need for the community to open more doors for them, but there is also the need for young people to capitalize on the opportunities that already exist.

Her personal goal is to fulfill her mission for change, as she wants to make her community safer for everyone who calls it home. In her leisure time she enjoys reading, writing, and browsing the Internet.

Her advice to young people is to be a good example for upcoming youth.

“No matter what you’ve done, you can turn it around and make something of yourself,” she declared.

Gloria, a resident of Benque, is also a volunteer for YFF Cayo, and has been for the past year and a half. She joined the organization after she attended a workshop by the National AIDS Commission at the youth empowerment office with Marleni Hernandez.

What stuck with her was the lesson she learned in a game of beads called “wild fire.” In the game, two to three persons shared beads. They took beads from a bag and pushed them into another person’s bag. This showed her how easily one person can infect others with HIV.

Right now Gloria is a UNICEF Xchanger and a Gojoven 2006 Fellow, both programs targeted at youth.

Still, she finds time to implement her personal project, funded by UNICEF under the Xchange program. She has chosen to focus on teenaged pregnancy in Arenal Village, Cayo.

Gloria told us that her goal is to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy in the area.

“There are five members in the group. We meet on weekends and discuss our strategy,” she informed. “We also did a health fair in Arenal and our partners were BFLA (Belize Family Life Association), the Public Health Service and a lot of other people who joined in to help.”

Next they will issue questionnaires to get feedback on the level of information young people have about preventing teenaged pregnancy, targeting the 16 to 19 age group.

Gloria said that she will not tell her peers to abstain, but to protect themselves and to always be in tune with what’s happening.

Apart from these programs, Gloria Avila helps out the youth officer at her school and is now doing an internship for the Entra-21 program, which covers computer technology and job training under a program implemented by the International Youth Foundation and the University of Belize.

Her hobbies are listening to music, watching TV, and playing volleyball and basketball.

Her big dream is to work along with her allies to help reduce teenage pregnancy in Belize.

Gloria Avila wants to pursue a career in social work, but decided to go with international business for now, since the social work is not offered at Sacred Heart Junior College, where she attends school.

Her message to her peers is – “Push for your dreams!”