Teen Talk and Tooth Extractions

I am happy to report Zedekia is doing so much better. The first few days yanked my heart strings so, I was seriously questioning my decision to take him, but he is now thriving. He especially loves Precious, Anne's daughter, and they have become jointed at the hip. He is consistently smiling now, which is a significant improvement. He is able to tolerate 3 meals a day now (he was used to one), and his potty training is much better. His new ability to smile has revealed some atrocious looking teeth, so I'm trying to track down a dentist ASAP. We've already removed the two worst teeth manually, but I think the others will require a little more invasive means. Poor babe. Here's hoping the rotten ones are all baby teeth and his permanent teeth are still intact and salvageable. He can make sounds though, and even whispers some words. I realized yesterday the word he whispers when he sits in my lap is "jes-cah". Love. That. Boy.

(Zed and Precious)

(Zed and Virginia doing a little light reading ;)

Zedekia is especially taken with books and loves to point out ever car in the books he flips through. Don't bother trying to teach him with about anything else on the page, he is only interested in the cars. If you get distracted by the colorful pictures of animals, food, etc, he will take your finger and bring you back to the cars, which is the only reason we started reading this book in the first place, silly mzungu :)

(Giving the pad talk at Emmatsi Secondary School)

Virginia and I have also been busy with the pad project. We've visited several different schools to distribute the pads, and we've also been promoting the project by traveling to new schools to talk with teachers and principals and tell them about the program. We enrolled two new schools yesterday. Virgnia jumped right in and was unphased by the tangible awkwardness that permeates a room whenever you approach the toics of menstration and sex with a room full of teenage girls. When we talked with the secondary school girls (high school), we were peppered with questions at the end for over an hour. Just shows how much they need the education, as well as the pads. A good portion of their questions revolved around virginity and what qualifies you as a virgin-since these were older girls, I assume it was especially pertinent because it pertained to their dowries. Not quite the same type of questions we get in the US............

(Girls at Emmatsi Secondary School )

We have another pad talk tomorrow, and our big field trip to the swimming pool this weekend, so stay tuned ;)

Jessie

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