DSWD’s Youth Development Session to benefit 100-T 4P beneficiaries

DAVAO CITY, Nov. 2 (PIA) – More than 100,000 high school students in the region will benefit from the Youth Development Session (YDS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

According to DSWD, the YDS is a parallel intervention to the Family Development Session that targets high school student beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Program.

DSWD Region XI together with the National Youth Commission (NYC) recently launched the program in the region which gathered about 200 4Ps student beneficiaries studying at the Davao City National High School.

NYC Commissioner Percival Cendaña said the YDS program intends to motivate the students to finish their studies and to provide them with necessary life skills.

The YDS will be part of the class sessions in public schools where there are 4Ps student beneficiaries.

Cendaña said that sessions in Davao Region will pilot modules on teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and changing bodies which are part of the 11 modules to be undertaken in the YDS program nationwide.

DSWD-XI regional director Priscilla Razon said that the session will give more emphasis on teenage pregnancies “to encourage students to finish their schooling.”

The module on teenage pregnancy bears the title “Bata, Bata Magkano ka Ginawa” which aims to reduce teenage pregnancy.

Cendaña said that teenage pregnancy is among the major reasons why young students would not finish high school.

Based on the national data, he bared that about 600 teenage girls are giving birth per day and that numbers have noted increasing trend from 1998 which recorded an increase by seven percent, 2003 by 8%, 2008 by 10% and 2013 by 13.7%.

Apart from educating the adolescents of appropriate knowledge and good attitude, the YDS will also teach them necessary skills to help them prepare to face developmental changes and challenges in the society.

The other topics to be discussed in the YDS include social preparation, changing mind, body image and health lifestyle, changing emotions, expressing emotions, changing roles and expectations, defining identity, appreciating self-worth and discovering destiny. (PIA-XI/Carina L. Cayon)