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By: Zekarias Menberu, Ethiopian youth Council for Higher Opportunities (ECHO), TaYA
Every one will definitely agree that family is an institution and an important unit of social structure that further extends up to a nation. Just as it is the place where human beings start their earthly life from birth, it is also the place where people get their needs like love, care, food, clothing, education, among others. It is the immediate environment where children can be equipped with all the necessary inputs before they join their society. It’s undeniable that the next environment in their life, like neighborhood and school are also important factors. Family holds a very important place.
Therefore, when we think of building capable and reasonable citizens for the future it is important to give due attention to the role being played by families. That is enabling them to have confidence to be frank about sex and related problems they face in their puberty stage. They can also enable them to freely form sexual partners and friendship without any need to resorting to the dangerous way. This will also open the best opportunity to let the youth learn that they can enjoy sexual relationship by remaining faithful to one partner, or use condoms to ensure safety of their sexual life.
It is usually believed that lack of openness in families about the matter is causing a lot of mess up to the sexual life of the youth. The youth do not enjoy freedom to have sexual relationship with opposite sex in the right way or openly. But when they are troubled by their sexual feelings, they are forced to deal with it in the secret way which endangers their overall life in various ways. When they attempt to escape family pressure, they find it safer to resort to a place where their families do not have access or do not find out. Hence, exposing them to various dangers like STDs, harmful addictions and the like. Furthermore, they may choose to spend their times of schooling for the purpose of undertaking their illicit sexual affairs.
Therefore, helping the youth to succeed in their sexual life appears to be a crucial matter in working towards ensuring the smooth and successful progress of all other activities of the society. Families should take the lion’s share of the responsibility. Unless the youth find an open environment at home, then where should they learn the necessary behavior?
Therefore, if we wish to form an open active and vibrant society, we should start the job at the family level giving due attention to the sexuality life of the youth.
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I definitely agree with you about openness and the family. It is so hard however to change the ways that families work. I am not sure how to even begin to tackle this problem but I am sure we can at least begin through education and outreach about reproductive health and comprehensive sex education in schools.
# Posted By 
vanessaaishacoleman
| 5/27/09 09:18 PM
| Reply
vanessaaishacoleman
| 5/27/09 09:18 PM
| Reply
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