Girl Talk- No Boys Allowed

Warning= GIRL TALK! No boys allowed!!

This was something I forgot to write about before. I want to include it now cuz it was so awesome.

Prior to leaving for my trip, I knew I was going to be w/ older, teenage kids & I was reminded by Jenn that it might be good to bring along some feminine "supplies". After one of our sessions w/ Sara (CCS staff), I mentioned it to her- about taking them w/ me to school for the girls & telling them I had them. She informed me that Tanzanian girls have a code word for supplies- "BREAD". In case there are any boys around, they can talk about 'bread' w/out feeling embarrassed I guess. Sara said it would be good for me to talk to the girls about their periods & she even said I could talk to them about HIV & using condoms/safe sex. WOW. Got the green light.

So the 2nd Friday at school, I grabbed some girls & said I wanted to talk to them outside. One girl went for the rest of the girls & we all gathered outside at the bottom of the steps. It was SO cute. We all gathered in this football huddle w/ our arms around each other, leaning in close. They were all giggly & excited.
"OK girls, I want to talk to you about your period."
A collective "ooooohhhhh".
"I have some bread".
Again, "ooohhhhh".
I told them what I had & that I would bring it with me each day. They should just ask me whenever they needed it & I'd give them some. Then I asked them if they had any questions. Boy-did they ever!
"Why do I feel so bad?"
"Why does it hurt?"
"How long should it last?"
"What if it's more than 10 days?"
"What if it's 2 times in 1 month?"
WOW! It was amazing. I wondered if they ever had anyone tell them anything about their periods. We all get the talk in middle school to some degree, but these girls never had any kind of Health class, I'm sure. It was so awesome to be able to talk to them about this & answer their questions as best as I could. Of course w/ some things I told them to talk to their mother, grandmother or healer.

Then I mentioned sex- no matter what, always, always, always have him use a condom! They all kind of looked like they were taking it all in & nodding their heads. I said,"You don't ever want to get sick- get HIV or get pregnant before you're married". Once again, a collective "nnnnoooooooo!!" Of course I told them to wait til they get married, but regardless (just in case) always use a condom.

WOW! What an experience to be able to "minister'' to the girls in this way! I kinda felt proud that I could open up & talk to them about all of this & answer their questions. All the girls at home base were amazed that I had this talk w/ my girls. It was so neat.

GIRL POWER!!!