This site is an introduction to the book Entre querés y quisieras (Between Wishing and Needing, the pregnancy of children).. The book has 17 chapters each dedicated to the story of one woman/girl/child. Each chapter is comprised of the first few pages of that individual’s story. The site, also, includes educational materials based on the book. The protagonists are children and adolescents like anywhere, but who share the common challenge of pre-teen and teen pregnancy.
My original intent was to show legislators who their laws were actually effecting — what they did — but it became more than that. The book and educational package became an alternative way to promote discussion and to be a catalyst for change. It’s not about telling young people what they should and shouldn’t do, but getting them to think and talk about themselves, their lives and why they are doing what they are doing. The educational cards come directly from the book with photos and stories to help promote group participation. This needs to be accompanied by accurate information on sexual reproduction, contraception, gender identity, sexual abuse, as well as physical and psychological abuse.
When I wrote this piece originally in 2010, we had been working with the educational materials for over a year. That January we started a pilot project with a regional health center in Guatemala. I was extremely lucky to have the support of teachers from Fotokids, as well as a wonderful psychologist and medical doctor. It is my belief that the material is applicable anywhere in the world. The issues are the same — all you have to do is use your own photos and adjust the language to “make it your own.”
Even though there is much more information available today than when I first published this book, we are going backwards in our attitudes… Perhaps we need to talk not just about biology, but also about the social, emotional and psychological aspects of what is going on… and what it actually means, not just for ourselves, but others as well.
I had taken a hiatus from this project but have decided that it is more necessary now than ever… as I said, I feel like we are going backwards. No, we are definitely going backwards. I have not decided where I’m going to take this project other than to put the pdf files for the books and teaching materials on the site which will be downloadable. I continue to collect women’s stories about what they have gone through.
I believe the issues are universal, regardless of race, religion, social and economic levels, but we’ll never know for sure unless we talk about it. The work that I have done serves as the jumping off point for others, like you.