Tuesday, July 7th, 2015. Chrisbert Garcia Reporting: Since 2004, GOJoven has been building the capacity of young leaders and organizations to create positive change in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) programs, policies, and services in Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, and Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Last weekend, the 2015 Cohort gathered at the Chiclero Camp Resort in San Ignacio to begin their first week of training as our country’s newest group of young leaders. A total of 11 new ‘fellows’ as members of the program are called, arrived at Chiclero Camp on Sunday, June 28th and immediately began a packed schedule of presentations and healthy discussions.
Each day the fellows reported to breakfast at 8:00 a.m and then began the sessions at 9:00 a.m that would run all through the day up until 6:00 p.m. Presenters from organizations such as PASMO, the Belize Family Life Association and the Department of the Environment, as well as senior fellows of GOJoven, shared a vast amount of knowledge with the 11 participants, all linking back to Sexual Reproductive Health and issues affecting Belize.
Although the 11 youths were chosen because of their leadership qualities and potential to bring change to their communities, a personal assessment was done with each participant to see which leadership skills could be improved and better prepare them to bestow the information gained upon uninformed youths.
The one week training covered a vast amount of topics, namely: Leadership and Self Esteem, Stigma and Discrimination, Leadership Action Plans, Sexual Reproductive Health Myths, Taboos and Rights, HIV/AIDS, Population and the Environment, Career Planning, Personal Development, Family Planning and Contraceptive Methods, Country Policies, Gender and Sexuality, Public Relations and Customer Service and Budget and Financial Planning.
The training concluded on Saturday July 4th and the 11 new fellows departed with mass amounts of new knowledge, ready to begin the change that Belize so desperately needs. This was the first of three trainings that the fellows will need to complete before officially becoming a part of the GOJoven family.
The list of fellows and their Respective areas of residence is as follows: Shantel Jacobs (Belmopan), Peter Williams(Belmopan), Delmore Santino (Punta Gorda), Chrisbert Garcia (Punta Gorda), Kaneir Casimiro (Dangriga), Kandise Morrison (Belize City), Rafael Roberts (Independence Village), 
Orvan Martin (Dangriga), Gilbert Zetina (Cayo), Valentine Jones (Belize City) and Diego (Orange Walk).
GOJoven is a pioneer in youth leadership development and mobilization. The GOJoven model is youth-led, local, diverse, and inclusive.
In 2010 the GOJoven Belize Fellows established the GOJoven Belize Alumni Association (GOBelize), a new youth-led and youth-serving organization that has taken on a life of its own, training new Cohorts to keep improving the program and informing as much youth as possible throughout the length and breadth of Belize.
Facilitators of the Program are: Ms. Gloria Avila, Mrs. Eva Burgos and Mr. Omar Rodriguez. Another training is scheduled for late August.