After that last post, I wanted to try and lighten the mood and bring up a really wonderful project that has started to take root in my village. Around December of last year I got an email from a fellow Volunteer named Bridgette, who wanted to know if anyone was interested in organizing reusable sanitation pads for the women and girls in their village through the Days for Girls Organization. I said I was on board and would help however I could. The process was long, and slow and I don't know how Bridgette did it (but I'm so glad that she did!) Hats off for her determination and muchos gracias for the fact that she kept me in the loop even when I wasn't the most responsive of people to work with on the occasion.
Life has a way of working out, and on my way back down from Independence Day in Maun, I was able to transport about 50 kits back to Rams! Days for Girls is an amazing organization that realized that feminine hygiene in third world areas can be really hard to deal with. A lot of girls stop going to school while on their periods because they don't want to stain or mess their clothing in front of their peers. In my village, though sanitary napkins are available in most stores, they are incredibly expensive, so a lot of women just end up shoving nylons or toilet paper into the underwear and hope for the best. This is no way to live and I'm pumped about possibly improving the situation (while also having an opportunity to add a health talk or two in there.)
Here is what is included in each kit:
- Two "shields", which I like to call "holders." In this picture they are the purple rectangles to in the center that snap into the panties and hold the liners in place.
- Eight liners. This is the awesome fabric that acts like the pad and can be washed and replaced!
- Set of visual directions. One of my biggest pet peeves here is when organizations come in and try and do everything in English. These directions are completely visual and don't include any text!
- Pair of Panties
- Wash cloth
- Two gallon size zip lock bags. These are perfect for if you need to replace a pad in the middle of the day and don't have an easy place to put it
- Bar of hotel sized soap
- All of this comes in a super cute drawstring bag so you don't have to worry about anybody getting embarrassed!
I have 27 kits for girls and another 24 for women and today we had our first meeting with the Junior Secondary School to target girls who are going to be most in need of them. We also talked about how we could give the sewing pattern to the Home Ec class and they could start making them on their own. In addition to this we are going to talk to the local seamstress and any other interested women in attempting to make this a "reusable" income project. Ha ha ha :) The clinic is going to target the majority of the women who need pads, the JSS about 20 girls and then we are going to have the Village Development Committee try and find another 7 girls who may have dropped out of school, who are in need.
The great thing about all of this is that all of these organization are going to make lists of girls and women in need so that when I go home in December for Christmas I can try and bring some kits back. These lists will also be great for when the village starts producing their own, so we can target who needs them more quickly. I'm really excited for this project, and it all started because I responded to an email about a year ago. I think this could be a really wonderful opportunity to talk to the girls about empowering themselves, and have larger health talks with the community about topics such as HIV/AIDS, adherence to medication, teenage pregnancy and contraception.
This also came at a time when I really needed it. I needed a "win" this week pretty badly considering what has been going on, and it has totally come about through the grace of God and the universe. A few other things went down today that I would like to add: I had a great meeting with a guy from the village over about how he wants to try and mobilize youth to vote (I should make it VERY clear that this project isn't about campaigning, just about getting people to vote at all. The Peace Corps does not allow Volunteers to get involved in politics, and I agree with this policy wholeheartedly.) The main librarian also just came back from some emergency leave and asked to meet with me tomorrow about getting the ball rolling on the STEPS films nights!
Lastly, I went and had a game night with a few people at my friend Shannon's place this weekend. I got a ton of new kitchen/ food stuff from her (she is in the Bots 11s and will be COSing next week) and as kind of an afterthought I picked up a book of poetry by Hafiz that had been translated into English. It has been bringing about some wonderful reading and inspiration, and I love how the whole things is written like a love letter to God and the universe and humanity. With that in mind I would like to post one here for you, all of you, and especially the ones that might really need it today. As always, thanks for stopping by.
Hugs and Smooches,
Claire
Life has a way of working out, and on my way back down from Independence Day in Maun, I was able to transport about 50 kits back to Rams! Days for Girls is an amazing organization that realized that feminine hygiene in third world areas can be really hard to deal with. A lot of girls stop going to school while on their periods because they don't want to stain or mess their clothing in front of their peers. In my village, though sanitary napkins are available in most stores, they are incredibly expensive, so a lot of women just end up shoving nylons or toilet paper into the underwear and hope for the best. This is no way to live and I'm pumped about possibly improving the situation (while also having an opportunity to add a health talk or two in there.)
Here is what is included in each kit:
- Two "shields", which I like to call "holders." In this picture they are the purple rectangles to in the center that snap into the panties and hold the liners in place.- Eight liners. This is the awesome fabric that acts like the pad and can be washed and replaced!
- Set of visual directions. One of my biggest pet peeves here is when organizations come in and try and do everything in English. These directions are completely visual and don't include any text!
- Pair of Panties
- Wash cloth
- Two gallon size zip lock bags. These are perfect for if you need to replace a pad in the middle of the day and don't have an easy place to put it
- Bar of hotel sized soap
- All of this comes in a super cute drawstring bag so you don't have to worry about anybody getting embarrassed!
I have 27 kits for girls and another 24 for women and today we had our first meeting with the Junior Secondary School to target girls who are going to be most in need of them. We also talked about how we could give the sewing pattern to the Home Ec class and they could start making them on their own. In addition to this we are going to talk to the local seamstress and any other interested women in attempting to make this a "reusable" income project. Ha ha ha :) The clinic is going to target the majority of the women who need pads, the JSS about 20 girls and then we are going to have the Village Development Committee try and find another 7 girls who may have dropped out of school, who are in need.
The great thing about all of this is that all of these organization are going to make lists of girls and women in need so that when I go home in December for Christmas I can try and bring some kits back. These lists will also be great for when the village starts producing their own, so we can target who needs them more quickly. I'm really excited for this project, and it all started because I responded to an email about a year ago. I think this could be a really wonderful opportunity to talk to the girls about empowering themselves, and have larger health talks with the community about topics such as HIV/AIDS, adherence to medication, teenage pregnancy and contraception.This also came at a time when I really needed it. I needed a "win" this week pretty badly considering what has been going on, and it has totally come about through the grace of God and the universe. A few other things went down today that I would like to add: I had a great meeting with a guy from the village over about how he wants to try and mobilize youth to vote (I should make it VERY clear that this project isn't about campaigning, just about getting people to vote at all. The Peace Corps does not allow Volunteers to get involved in politics, and I agree with this policy wholeheartedly.) The main librarian also just came back from some emergency leave and asked to meet with me tomorrow about getting the ball rolling on the STEPS films nights!
Lastly, I went and had a game night with a few people at my friend Shannon's place this weekend. I got a ton of new kitchen/ food stuff from her (she is in the Bots 11s and will be COSing next week) and as kind of an afterthought I picked up a book of poetry by Hafiz that had been translated into English. It has been bringing about some wonderful reading and inspiration, and I love how the whole things is written like a love letter to God and the universe and humanity. With that in mind I would like to post one here for you, all of you, and especially the ones that might really need it today. As always, thanks for stopping by.
Hugs and Smooches,
Claire
The Great Work
By: The Great Sufi Master Hafiz
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
Love
Is the great work
Though every heart is first an
Apprentice
That slaves beneath the city of Light.
This wonderous trade,
This magnificent throne your soul
Is destined for--
You should not have to think
Much about it,
Is is not clear
An Apprentice needs a teacher
Who himself
Has charmed the universe
To reveal its wonders inside his cup.
Happiness is the great work,
Though every heart must first become
A student
To one
Who really knows
About Love.
 |
| "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed its the only thing that ever has." ~Margaret Mead |
Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of used stamps because trough them, you can see pictures about fauna, flora, monuments, landscapes etc. from all the countries. As every day is more and more difficult to get stamps, some years ago I started a new collection in order to get traditional letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favor:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Botswana? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Botswana in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and an original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Avenida Juan de la Cierva, 44
28902 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely
Emilio Fernandez
Claire,
ReplyDeleteWhat an extraordinary blog and how much I have enjoyed reading it (all) today! You, dear woman, will be receiving a care package...
I am a totally non-traditional PhD candidate, who longs to be in Botswana for research, however, due to family needs, am in Athens, GA conducting content analysis of internet posting instead. I could begin a long diatribe about all of this, however I will spare you. I am interested in how women learn to provide for themselves in conditions of overwhelming poverty. I LOVE the idea of making the Days for Girls Kits for income...
has it been successful? What can I do to help? Sewing machines? Fabrics? Threads?
I am not certain if my e-mail appears in this post...earwho@gmail.com.
I know you time and energy are not infinite; if there is something I can contribute, please let me know!
EA Raines-Whorton