When a group of 15 adolescent girls and boys walked into the benab (community center) in Mahdia, they expected a typical session where adults asked questions, and they answered. But as the day unfolded through interactive, creative activities, something shifted. They shared their dreams, dilemmas, and unspoken questions about relationships and began to feel like what they said mattered. By the end of the session, they weren’t just participants. They were changemakers, actively brainstorming ways their community could prevent teen pregnancies and support adolescents in building healthier, more hopeful futures.
Early and unintended pregnancy (EUP) remains a persistent challenge among Indigenous girls in Guyana, with adolescent birth rates in Regions 1, 7, 8, and 9 significantly higher than the national average. Young people in these communities often face stigma, judgment, and limited access to adolescent-responsive services. Many don’t know where to go or who to trust. And too often, they’re left out of the design of the very programs meant to serve them.
That’s why UNFPA collaborated with JSI for a different approach.
Rather than jumping to solutions, the first step was understanding what was really driving EUP. Using findings from a formative study, JSI applied its Pathways to Change framework (also known as THINK|BIG); a behavioral science-informed approach used to identify the specific behaviors that need to shift to achieve a shared goal, and the social, emotional, and structural factors shaping them. We identified and analyzed behaviors across the ecosystem—from adolescents to parents, health workers, community leaders, and systems actors—clarifying what each group could do to support better outcomes and what might be standing in their way.
These behavior profiles grounded the next phase: co-design. JSI started with two-day workshop with national and regional stakeholders, bringing together representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, civil society organizations, and implementing partners. The goal was to build a shared understanding of the human-centered design (HCD) approach, strengthen skills in using design tools for solution development and implementation, and validate the co-design activities that would follow. This session laid the groundwork for collaboration and alignment, ensuring that those positioned to take forward the solutions were also part of shaping how they would emerge.
JSI then worked with local partner Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) and UNFPA to conduct four participatory workshops in Regions 1 and 8 with adolescents aged 15–19, and community stakeholders including parents, teachers, police officers, health workers, and religious leaders. These workshops were designed to do more than gather input—they helped put adolescents at the center of decision making. Each activity had a specific purpose. The “Hope Tree” invited participants to name their aspirations for young people and identify what they could personally or collectively do to realize them. “Break the Wall, Build the Bridge” helped adolescents reflect on what prevents them from getting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) information and imagine practical ways to overcome those barriers.
Perhaps most transformative was the solution development exercise. Using fictional personas based on real challenges—such as a teen girl facing sexual abuse or a young mother trying to return to school—participants mapped the social ecosystem around each persona, discussed who could help and how, and then co-designed solutions tailored to their needs.
This activity surfaced some of the most compelling ideas: a youth hub, co-managed by adolescents, that would offer SRHR services, recreation, and creative outlets; a “Caribbean Teens Safe Package” distributed anonymously through schools; trauma-informed counseling in familiar, non-clinical spaces; and peer-based support networks for young mothers trying to stay in school or return to work.
What emerged was not just a list of problems, but a shared vision. Adolescents called for more trust, more connection, and more spaces to be themselves—without fear of judgment. Community stakeholders voiced a desire to do more, but often lacked coordination or clarity about how. Across both groups, we saw powerful and grounded ideas take shape.
JSI worked with UNFPA to synthesize the insights and develop a set of recommendations, grounded in the solutions, needs, and priorities raised by communities. We identified specific actions that national and regional actors could take to strengthen adolescent-responsive services, improve coordination among stakeholders, and ensure that trusted sources—like family members, peers, and youth leaders—were better equipped to support girls. Every recommendation was tied directly to the behaviors identified at the outset and aligned with global evidence and frameworks.
But we didn’t stop at recommendations.
To close the loop and turn insight into action, JSI and UNFPA convened a final wrap-up workshop with government ministries, UN partners and civil society organizations. This session created space for stakeholders to review the co-designed solutions, validate feasibility, and identify where they could lead implementation—either in partnership with UNFPA or independently.
The next phase of this initiative will build on this momentum. But already, the project has shifted something fundamental. As one of the young people at the workshop said to one of the facilitators at the end of her workshop, “I thought this was going to be a session where adults told us what to do. Instead, you listened.”
And that, ultimately, is what this work is about: co-creating systems and services that are not only evidence-based, but truly human.
By Batula Abdi1, Adler Bynoe1 Rimjhim Surana2, Nicole Castle2, Melinda McKay2
1UNFPA 2JSI
