Alex Muianga, Mozambique

Photo by Maihyet Burton

"Being an in-school peer educator changed my life. I understood that I had an important responsibility—I had less time to relax, to do sports, to have fun, but I started to use my free time for more important things. When people know you're a peer educator, they treat you differently—the principal of your school, your teachers, other students—they start to expect more from you; you become someone with integrity. In the beginning, maybe you don't feel a strong commitment to being a peer educator, but the process changes you. You develop better skills for talking to people—first, in your school, and then, you find the strength and the words to intervene in family situations. People see you as someone with clear ideas, someone who can solve their problems. The change doesn't happen all at once—it's a process, and it's not always easy. But once it happens, you believe that you really are different from other people—different in very positive ways."

About Alex

Alex was born in Maputo, Mozambique to Mozambican parents. In 1995 he became a peer educator on sexual and reproductive health through the organization AMODEFA (The Mozambican Association for Family Development), and in 2000 he joined AMODEFA's staff as the coordinator of in-school programmers. Currently serving as coordinator of community programmers, Alex mobilizes policymakers, community leaders, and youth in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and is working to establish a network of youth associations, in-school youth corners, and youth-friendly health services, in order to increase access to lifesaving information and skills for both in-school and out-of-school youth. A member of UNA Mozambique and several other youth associations, Alex participated in the development of Mozambique's National Youth Policy and was recently invited to join the HIV department of the National Youth Council. He is a member of the CIADAJ forum (Intersectoral Committee for the Development of Adolescents and Youth in Mozambique), and an active participant in the youth-focused initiative Geração Biz (Busy Generation) in Maputo, Mozambique. Alex has a French-language diploma from Centro Cultural Franco Mozambican, and is currently pursuing a university degree in psychology. In February 2004 he participated in "A Dialogue with Young Leaders: Building Capacity and Fostering Participation," a meeting of 15 young advocates for sexual and reproductive rights from around the world, organized by IWHC in partnership with the Youth Coalition.

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