Another round of capacitaciones started today. These are the educational trainings that are given to the promotores before they go into the any of the local communities. These next few weeks they (and I) will be learning about the PESSANE program at CASA. To take from the CASA page, "PESSANE was founded in 1992 with the goal of providing essential, age-appropriate, sexual and reproductive health education to teachers, parents, and students through interactive workshops in the Guanajuato state school system. The team provides orientation on sexuality, family planning, self-esteem, depression, substance abuse, and violence. PESSANE runs a popular annual summer program; its unique model aims to coach adolescents from all over the country and turn them into leaders in their own communities and schools." This program is particularly inspiring to me in that one of the main goals is to encourage and foster youth education and leadership. As the coordinator for the program was explaining to the promotores today, it's one thing to talk about family planning with young people (which can provoke taboo subjects such as abortion or sexually transmitted diseases) with an older teacher or parent and quite another thing to talk with a peer counselor. It opens up the possibility for more open discussions and trust. Obviously when I was younger I would have chosen a peer to talk to about sex over any teacher or adult I know! This week we will also learn about PESSANES recycling program and community garden project. A wonderful way to round out my last few weeks here.