The Importance of Comprehensive Sex Education Access in North Nusa Tenggara
- Pexels
East Nusa Tenggara, VIVA – One of the recipients of the SATU Indonesia Awards from Astra in 2020, Mariana Yunita Hendriyani Opat, has successfully met the need for sex education in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.
As the founder of the Tenggara Youth Community, she launched "Bacarita Kespro," an innovative program aimed at educating and empowering teenagers in East Nusa Tenggara about sex and reproductive health.
Her motivation stemmed from a survey of 500 teenagers in the region, which revealed that most lacked access to sex education resources and safe spaces to discuss related issues.
Mariana Yunita, penerima penghargaan Apresiasi SATU Indonesia Awards tahun 2020
- Astra
This gap in knowledge correlates with persistent issues like sexual harassment and high rates of teenage pregnancies in East Nusa Tenggara.
She saw that many students are expelled from school due to pregnancy outside of marriage, and parents often do not oppose these actions due to a lack of awareness of their children's rights and needs.
This situation inspired her to launch Bacarita Kespro—derived from Kupang Malay, meaning "to talk."
The program provides sexual and reproductive health education to teens using innovative teaching methods such as storytelling, educational games, and learning aids.
The initiative targets adolescents from poor, marginalized, socially excluded, and underserved communities. So far, Bacarita Kespro has reached approximately 2,000 teenagers across 43 communities in East Nusa Tenggara, including Kupang City, Oesao Village (Kupang Regency), Neke Village (South Central Timor Regency), and Kera Island (East Sumba Regency).
This success is bolstered by partnerships with local and national organizations, such as the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), the AIDS Commission, Women for Indonesia, and institutions like Kopernik.
