The walls continue to climb higher, and preparations are being made to run electrical conduit for receptacles and lights inside the hollow brick walls. A more portable scaffold was built for the next steps (pun intended) of the build project.
The three women plus photographer Doug left for the rural town of Ngmagaro with our capable driver, Leisha, plus two Mama Maisha workers, Lilian and Miriam. Upon our arrival we were surrounded by a crowd of curious but welcoming male students observing us as we unloaded the three very heavy and large suitcases full of Days for Girls hygiene kits from on top of the jeep. We were then directed through the crowd to a large classroom packed with 180 (ish) girls, who proceeded to applaud and cheer as we were ushered to our coloured plastic chairs at the front of the room.
The girls were highly engaged as Leisha lead the educational component of the Days for Girls presentation translated by Lilian into Swahili. Topics such as both male and female anatomy, menstrual cycles and reproduction were covered. This part of the morning was followed by an explanation and demonstration of the various components of the kits including how to put on the chupi (underwear). Note that some females do not own underwear, or own only one or two pair that they double or triple up to substitute as pads during menstruation. There was a special excitement at the prospect of receiving both new underwear, and effective products for managing their menstruation.
We maintained the practice of giving each young woman her own kit one at a time, with many “assante sanas” being expressed from the students, along with smiles, and some hugs.
In the meantime, Jack and Steven (Diocese Social Worker) went out to visit some of the clients in the Diocese that have been helped, especially near the village. The first visit was with a 59 year old man who had a hut built for him previously. He is a paraplegic who asked for prayer. Steven was happy to oblige.
The second visit was to a grandmother who was taking care of two grandchildren because her daughter had passed away from TB.
The third stop was in Steven’s village to see the grinding machine recently installed to help with grinding corn and cassava.
The fourth visit was to a woman who had a hut built during Shirati 2015. (Dylan, Jon, Justin, Nathan, Terry, Jane) They heard about her health struggles, being widowed, and the difficulty in finding food for her four children. Finally, they went to see a woman who had a hut built in 2014. (Jane, Jon, Terry) She was given a female goat shortly after and since then that goat has had three sets of twins. She is doing very well and when asked if she needed anything, she said no.
After this visit, Jack spent some time practise driving Steven’s motorcycle to the point where when they returned to the Guesthouse with Jack driving and Steven riding behind!
recipients!