To date, the IRC in Atlanta’s Health and Wellness and Youth teams have implemented three replications of the Health Improvement Project for Teens (HIPTeens), with 48 refugee and immigrant young women 15-16 years of age.
HIPTeens, developed by Dr. Dianne Morrison-Beedy, is an evidence-based, theoretically driven sexual risk reduction intervention for adolescent girls that enhances knowledge, increases motivation, and teaches behavioral skills needed to reduce pregnancy, HIV and STI risk.
Our project team—which includes two Clarkston High School alumnae and GSU Freshmen who originally came to the U.S. through the refugee resettlement program—provided these young women with teen pregnancy prevention education through a series of engaging virtual workshops. Participants had the opportunity to identify their personal values and future goals, determine their healthy choices for a healthy future, and practice using an assertive statement to strengthen their voice and decision-making process. The HIPTeens program is provided in five sessions online, via Zoom, in small groups of girls with trained group leaders.
Below, three young women share their experience being a HIPTeens student:
Mary, 16, originally from Rwanda
“The teachers and classes helped me think about my future and how important it is to plan for my future. It [HIPTeens] taught me how to make healthy choices and making sure I study first and focus on my goals. The teachers helped me think about how important it is to plan for my future. Almost everything we talked about I knew a little about it before the classes, but after the classes, I have learned a lot and can tell my friends to focus on their studies and plan for their future. I want to finish school, and I want to be a lawyer.”
Aishah, 16, originally from Malaysia
“The classes sounded interesting and I wanted to know more about my health. I enjoyed everything about the classes, and they helped me to plan out my future goals. I learned a lot about how HIV is passed, and how to not get HIV and feel more comfortable sharing what I learned with my friends. In the future, I want to go to Medical School to become a Doctor, so learning all of information in the classes was helpful.”
Joy, 15, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo
“I really liked the classes especially that they were only girls and no boys because it made me feel more comfortable. I wanted to do the classes because I wanted to learn more about the female body, and I didn’t know about our bodies. It [HIPTeens] could help me in the future, for example we talked about planning our goals and we also talked about saying no to someone like peer pressure, the classes showed me how to give a clear and direct response to someone and taught me my voice is important. For now, I want to focus on my studies and finish high school and college and get a job, and then I’m going to plan other things later.”
Below, one of our HIPTeens parents shares why he wanted his daughter to participate in the program:
M. Lukera, IRC Case Aide and former educator. Former refugee and current U.S. permanent resident, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo
“I thought it [HIPTeens] would be helpful to her but especially learning how to set goals. It’s very important to educate girls because in most cases depending on the past experiences, some of the girls don’t know how to set their own goals for themselves, and they think somebody else’s should do that for them. They need to be independent and be responsible for their lives just like men. They shouldn’t think there is some future man to make their goals for them, they have to live their own lives and make their own achievements, no matter what happens, and don’t focus on somebody else but focus on themselves.
“I have clear advice for parents, if such an opportunity is offered to any of your daughters, to go ahead and grab it. Getting somebody to educate your daughter is an opportunity. Sometimes we need to do it as parents, but some of us we have limits, so if we get somebody can do part of the work then it will be really wonderful. My simple advice is if such an opportunity is available to grab it on the benefit of their daughter.”
The IRC in Atlanta is currently recruiting refugee and immigrant young women aged 15-16 for our final HIPTeens cohort, beginning November 21. Please reach out to Program Coordinator, Grace Paulsen at Grace.Paulsen [at] Rescue.org to learn more about the benefits of the program and to provide any referrals. Program participants can earn up to $95 on completion of the program.