Silvia Xiomara García Méndez

Silvia Xiomara García Méndez was 23 when she became a GOJoven Fellow.  Xiomara has been a leader since she was 13 years old, participating in youth groups as a coordinator in the communities of Puerto Lempira and Olancho.  Currently she works as a volunteer in a joint program of the United Nations in cultural identity issues and also with a local women’s organization.  Xiomara also presently works as a teacher at the high school Centro de Educación Básica (Basic Education Center).  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in basic education.  Xiomara, a native of the Mosquitia region, is fluent in Misquito. She believes that children should be taught SRH at an early age, especially in her community where adolescent pregnancy is very common. Her short-term goal is to facilitate workshops on sexuality, pregnancy prevention and healthy sexual practices to adolescent Misquita girls. Xiomara is truly committed to working with youth and her main objective is to increase educational opportunities for her students.  Her dedication to work with youth inspired her to pursue studies as a profesor at the University of Francisco Morazán in Tegucigalpa.  She has plans to return to the Mosquitia region, as her biggest passion is to promote sexual and reproductive health of youth in her community, through work with different organizations, parents and teachers.