20 χρόνια δράσης της Ομάδας Οι Νέοι για τους Νέους

There are a lot of words that come to my mind. In their minds it's all mixed up Love, sex, infatuation SEX!!! It's cool, it's attractive, you get to talk about sex. When we go into schools, it is very almost certain that (teenagers) will say : 'Miss!! Miss!!' They will ask me about penises, about contraception, masturbation. You learn new things I met various people and I saw lots of craziness And I said 'Hmmm... I can fit right in!' Ιt's addicting! You will always find the degree of contribution that is right for you and then you will NOT BE ABLE TO STOP! I started when I was 14 I remember I was 16 My friends thought it was weird for a teenager to be involved in these issues. It was 20 years ago. And even 20 years later, certain issues are still a taboo. New people keep being attracted to our organization and have the same ENTHUSIASM to learn, to be volunteers. I heard about the Youth for Youth group from other friends who were volunteers and I was enthused! I wanted to be a volunteer too! I have learned things that have been useful to me throughout my whole life. You gain so many EXPERIENCES. There many OPPORTUNITIES. In my case, I had the opportunity, through the training and the experience I gained here, to find a job in Brussels, at an EU level. For me, it creates a sense of HOPE. Hope for CHANGE. New generations will be able have something we didn't have. We let each other DEVELOP and GROW There is room for you to develop your ideas. It is an environment that supports CREATIVITY. You feel a sense of FULFILLMENT from your contribution. It's like you have the opportunity to CHANGE someone else's life even in that short time you have with them. And this is priceless! Correct, reliable INFORMATION on sexual issues without having any guilt, on issues that are completely natural. A young person we counseled on the hotline, who had sex for the first time, he kept saying : 'I did something wrong'... 'I did something wrong! ' Apparently, what he had done 'wrong' was the fact that his girlfriend was not screaming as he had expected because of what he had watched in the movies. This made me really sad. I kept thinking of how much MISINFORMATION is out there among young people. What little knowledge they have about sex and sexuality. And I felt lucky to be part of this organization. It was one of things that kept me going, that MOTIVATE me to continue being part of this organization, because there is still a lot that NEEDS TO BE DONE. The environment here is PERFECT!! People here are so OPEN MINDED, so accepting Here you are ACCEPTED AS YOU ARE, to a degree that allows you to be as you truly are and therefore to contribute using the entire spectrum of your capabilities. Through the actions, the trainings, through what you do for others, how you help others in fact, it could be things that you were also doing for yourself too. These things are so authentic, they come so spontaneous. Volunteerism gave me a wonderful FAMILY, the family of the Association in which I belong , and I feel very happy to be a part of. The word I was looking for is FAMILY Truly, it is like a family, the Family of Family Planning the family of the volunteers. We are more than a group of friends hanging out because we spend both the good times and the bad times here. I am still treated the same (as when I first joined). I feel I belong to a family. It is not that it is only an organization where I am just a volunteer. This organization is my family. Another form of family. You will not be able to distance yourself. You will like it so much you won't be able to leave. You will always feel you are part of the family of this Association that you will always maintain a warm, close relationship with them. It is the YOUNG PEOPLE who will tell us what they want, the young people will define the priorities, they will design the programs. We only guide them. The Association is open to anyone. I feel that when you hear about an organization that stands for LOVE, FREEDOM AND EQUALITY, I think it all starts and ends there! These three values are so fundamental! For me everything starts and ends there. Love, freedom and equality. Youth for Youth was established in 1996 as part of Family Planning. Family Planning is one of the oldest organizations active in the field of health, education and human rights (established in 1971) Family Planning's vision is a world where sexuality is expressed and enjoyed with freedom, equality, respect and love.