My Hens, Updated :-)

In the evening

In the morning!

Two weeks later...

Watching my hen reminds me of that scripture..." How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me."

Summer/Winter in Malawi

 So here in the Southern Hemisphere "summertime", when school is out and the Peace Corps runs Camps, is technically winter. That doesn't mean its not still tank top weather, just that at nighttime one requires many, many layers of tank tops to stay warm.

In July and August, Cait and I taught at both big Camps that Peace Corps runs; Camp Glow and Camp Sky. I taught a session to 60 girls about reproductive anatomy and physiology, family planning and STD's. Believe it or not there were a lot of laughs- along with a lot of really good questions from the girls (and 'aha' moments). Althought this stuff is all supposed to be taught in secondary school the truth is that it usually isn't. Most Malawian teachers are male and don't feel comfortable teaching proper sex ed. Girls get a lot of bad advice here. For example, many girls had been told that if they abort a baby, the father immediately dies too. The fact that rape can happen within marriage was a new idea to almost all the campers. One of the most common problems is that girls don't even bother going to school when they have their periods because they don't have any leak-free options for hygiene.

 In a second session, Cait and I taught 90 girls how to sew their own reusible fabric menstrual pads. And -surprise- we handed out full sets of fabric pads to each girl!! Now they have enought to get started going to school EVERY DAY, and the skills to sew more. The girls here are often convinced that boys can tell when they are on their periods through magic or special senses. We taught them that if they walk tall and confidently, they don't have to worry about anyone "knowing".

 Happy happy girls :-) Several of them pleged to show their friends how to sew the kits and a few even expressed an interest in sewing them as a business. Meanwhile several other PCV's want to start local pad-sewing projects at their site. AND Cait and I have been invited to teach the pad making to the mother's groups at all 32 primary schools in our area. Fun fun fun. Very busy though.

 Inno is fat and happy

 Kitty owns the night.

One night Kitty showed up completely soaking wet. (There is no running water in my village, no rain for 4 months, the river is dried up. How, Kitty, How??)

Oh and we met Hillary Clinton. Surprisingly beautiful in person!