We were told it started at 9, but we should come at 10:30. We brought with us 90 pad kits and some underwear and were told the public health officers would also have disposable pads to distribute to all the girls at the end of the talk. It was listed right in the program. We had decided to hand the pads over to the teachers and have them give the reusable pads to the girls who were the most vulnerable and would not be able to purchase anymore when the disposable supply ran out, since we knew there would be many more than 90 girls there. When we arrived, the program had not yet started. It finally got going around 12:00. Now that is actually not the frustrating part-starting something 2 and a half hours late is par for the course here, frankly-I should have just planned to come late.
For the occasion they had erected two large tents and there were at least 35 government public health officers there. They started with a few skits about menstruation that appeared to be funny based on the girl's giggling. Then they spent over an hour introducing the different government officers there. One of the ladies gave a very informative 30 min talk about health and hygiene. I got up and gave my little talk about respecting our bodies and taking good care of them, and made a show of presenting the pads to the school. All the officers who were introduced earlier then EACH thanked everyone from coming and talked about what a great program it was..........And that was it. We sent most of the 500 girls home empty handed!
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| A few of the lucky girls who got pads |
I was informed right before we got started that they had no pads to give the girls. Even though the government has made very public commitments to supply schools with this basic need, the money (or the person who is supposed to deliver them) never seems to show up. So they rented tents, took 35 public health workers away from their jobs for a whole afternoon, and took 500 girls out of school...........to give them a 30-min min talk on hygiene. What?! The girls already know what to do, they just don't have the supplies to do it! I am very annoyed with the pomp and circumstance of this event that didn't really do jack squat for the girls (minus the ones that got our pads). They gave all the visitors bottled water and they had programs made-which is a bigger deal when you know that schools don't have printers. I imagine they also rented chairs, along with the tents. They had speakers, several microphones and all kinds of equipment so that the speakers could be heard. All of this costs money, What a waste. They could have nixed the entire show and used those funds to buy the stinking pads for the 4 schools that were present and just dropped them off with the teachers, which would have been a much better use of the always-limited funds. And I can't chalk it up to ignorance, because they told me they did a similar event two months ago and the pads never showed up either. They even have another one planned for July. The odds are not in their favor that they will have any pads to distribute. I have no doubt that my face will show up in some report on a government officer's desk showing the public health strides being made. What utter tosh, as the Brits would say! Possibly the most alarming part is that no one seemed upset. There was a lot of hand shaking, back patting and posing for photos. A general "well done us" feeling was rampant. In the end, those who are "helping" went away feeling very pleased with themselves, and most of those vulnerable girls, in need of help, are still just as much in need. I have no doubt this kind of thing happens in the our country just as often, but I've just never witnessed it. PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT THE BEST WE CAN DO! I will think of this day often, if only to make sure I am actually helping in the way I give myself credit for.
Jessie
YOU are doing good work, Jessie!
ReplyDeleteKeep up your courage.
Mary