"I joined the Youth Information Corner (YIC) in 2009, three years after it was formed, at the age of 19," 25 year old Ei Ei Maw recalls, her voice radiant with memories of those good old days. Ei Ei Maw is from Shwe Taung Village, about 50 miles south of Mandalay. Hers is a typical roadside village reliant on agricultural products. She continued: "I kept hearing about YIC's good work in the community and was eager to participate."
For Ei Ei Maw, the YIC life was exciting and she said it completely transformed her. First, she was assigned to the library, frequented by village youth. She went to the YIC daily and was able to read books which rural youth found hard to access. She was selected to attend a YIC refresher course in Nay Pyi Taw, in 2011. This training focused on Reproductive Health, HIV and AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Behaviour Change Communications, as well as communication skills. This was a turning point in her life that gave her confidence to do community work. She explained how she participated in health education, giving talks to villagers in the township on reproductive health. Villagers were at first shy and reluctant about listening to such sensitive issues, especially from a young person. They thought it was unconventional and felt uncomfortable, but nevertheless it attracted their attention.
The "can do" spirit generated by the YIC carries on, Ei Ei Maw said. While family responsibilities mean that she can now do less volunteer work, she said she continues to visit primary and high schools. The local health staff lead the talks and she assists: "For the primary schools, we talk about hygiene and more general subjects, and for the older students we talk about RH. She concluded by saying: "The YIC programme gives young people much needed knowledge about reproductive health. Since its members are the leaders of the future, we can look forward to a better society."
