Coraima Elizabeth Jiménez is a 22 year old woman who has an 8 month old girl. Previously she was unable to do any family planning because of the lack of economic resources. She was contacted by a representative from Clinicas Medicas Red Segura and immediately visited the center to plan with a method that would serve in the long-run, because she understood that she could not have any more children right now. She aspires to attend university and finish her career, and has thus asserted that “To plan oneself, is to plan life”.

20-year-old Isaura has lived with her partner for the past 6 months and was concerned about family planning, because of all the negative information she’d heard. Recently Isaura was referred to the Red Segura clinic in Santo Domingo where she received quality care and timely information about the importance of family planning, dispelling any myths she had. With support from PRJKT Ruby, Isaura realized that to realize her dream of becoming a lawyer it’s necessary to plan her life and said: “Planning means not having children before I’m ready. It’s preparing myself to give my children the best life in the future.”

Nicole, an unemployed, 18-year-old single mother who lives in Santo Domingo, is waiting until her son is older to have another child so she can provide a good life for herself, her son and her future family. Initially Nicole sought family planning services in the local public center but they did not have the method she wanted, and without health insurance she couldn’t access services through the private sector because of the high costs. However, through the PRJKT RUBY Fund and the Red Segura clinic operated by PSI’s independent network member in Latin America, Society for Family Health, Nicole was able to receive comprehensive family planning counseling as well as the method best suited to her needs, at no cost.

Jennifer Diaz is a 20-year-old woman who moved back in with her parents after her partner abandoned her with their child. Jennifer told Red Segura that she hadn’t used family planning before because she was afraid of the way she would be perceived by health center staff as a young person seeking family planning. Jennifer also mentioned that her fear came from all the negative information she’d heard about family planning. Jennifer’s fears were alleviated when she participated in an educational talk with a Red Segura health worker in Almirante, where she was able to get her questions answered. She decided to visit the Red Segura clinic and was able to receive quality services from a caring team, who provided the method of her choice. “Now I can continue my studies and become a teacher, which is what I want most,” she said with a hopeful look on her face. She noted that family planning is like “creating a life plan for the future.”