From left, Fridah, Gillian, Selina, and Rosemary looking at photos of the sanitary pad workshop on my iPad. Florence, Ruth and Joyce, who are also referred to below, hadn't arrived yet.
I'm basically here in Kenya this trip to hear what's been going on with sex ed instruction, find out what's been going well and what hasn't, and see how I can best support the teams going forward. I assumed that our biggest issue was money, and in fact the teams were told to put their activities on hold until further notice a number of months ago when we ran out of funds.
Today I met with six members of the sex ed team I previously trained - Joyce and Rosemary in 2008, Gillian, Fridah, Selina and Florence in 2009, and Ruth in 2010. These women are completely amazing. I could hardly believe their stories.
First, although sex ed "stopped," they didn't really stop working. Much of their "free" time and personal privacy is devoted to furthering our mission of helping the community by educating people on choices and good decision making, and giving them the tools to use to help make those good decisions. Second the improvements that principals are reporting at their schools, which they attribute to the sex ed presentations, are remarkable.
So, some of what I've been hearing. All of the women agreed that they just couldn't stop, even though we haven't been paying them since November. They are asked to come and make presentations to groups that urgently want them, and they say yes when they can. They buy their own food and pay tranport costs (matatu, which is a bus, or boda boda, which is a bike) to get around. Our model doesn't ask for payment, though that may change.
All of the women reported that at least on a few occasions community members came to them with descriptions of what sounded like sexually transmitted diseases, they referred them to the appropriate clinic or hospital, then when necessary PAID FOR THE TRANSPORT OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS because "what can you do, they're our neighbors."!!
All of the women keep a stock of condoms in their homes now, which they can pick up for free from the VCT which Vumilia runs. People come to their doors to ask for condoms, and also stop them on the road. Rosemary, who is a Vumilia home-based care outreach worker, and rides a motorbike for her job, keeps condoms with her. She is regularly stopped by young men asking for condoms as she's well known around for her HIV/AIDS work and sex education in the community. Evidently they say something like they don't want to walk around without "gumboots".
We had a letter allowing us to teach sex ed in primary and secondary schools in the area, which has lapsed and needs to be renewed, so they aren't currently teaching in schools. Florence reported that principals and teachers are stopping them, and even phoning them, and asking them to come back. At one school in particular, Lukusi, the Board of Governors has officially requested that the team come back. They attribute improved behavior, reduced pregnancy, and an improvement in test scores to the sex ed teaching. I have to say, that sounds unrealistic, but we really are that good! The curriculum is outstanding and the women are wonderful educators.
Although we are now going to begin focusing more on menstruation since the introduction of a workshop on menstruation and making reusable sanitary pads, our curriculum has always included a discussion of menstration and being prepared with sanitary products. The principals report that girls are missing fewer days of school, and the sex ed team reports that girls are more confident and less ashamed of their bodies and menstruating, and they're planning for the next cycle. (The women have also introduced a section on genital hygiene which they teach to girls and women.)
Fridah reported a big change in attitudes about sickness. People aren't being shunned and left alone like before, and sick people will go much more readily to be tested and treated. There's a big increase in HIV testing in the area.
Florence said that the topic of faithfulness, for which we have a really great visual in the form of a flip book, has proven to be really popular with mixed gender groups.
Fridah reported, and all agreed, that many men had been using condoms incorrectly. Now, with our careful and specific instruction, it's been reported back to them that condom use has both increased and is working. (The word used for burst is "bazooka", which I always heard murmured around the room when we taught correct condom use.) Additionally, we make a big deal about disposing of condoms properly, not just tossing them where children can get them, which was a big problem. Evidently it's now rare to see a condom lying around.
Gillian said that they wake up in the morning, "take tea", and then people come to their homes to ask for advice. As she said, "we shall remain in our community until death," and therefore they're committed to continuing the work, even though we can't pay them at the moment.
Joyce said that talking to the community has made people aware that STD treatment is free in government clinics, which they hadn't been aware of before. Many more people now go for more comprehensive treatment, not just HIV.
Selina urged us to get the permission letter renewed, that the schools are really urging them to come back. Principals feel that problems such as early pregnancy had really improved, but are now picking up again.
Joyce reported that she has really focused on one school near her home since she was trained in 2008. In 2007, 9 girls dropped out due to pregnancy, in 2008, after she began teaching there, 7 girls dropped out, in 2009, 4 girls, in 2010, only 2 girls, and now, in 2011, since she hasn't been there since the end of 2010, 3 had already dropped out by May. She big achievement is that girls who get pregnant are no longer "chased away", but are given notes from class, pre-tests, etc., and allowed to continue with their exams.(We're not all the way there yet, but definitely improving the treatment of girls!)
Ruth, the VCT technician, began going out in the field and teaching with the sex ed team after she was trained with a different group (Luanda, will report on them next) in 2010. She brings her mobile HIV testing kits along, and when we were funding, increased her average number of tests from about 150 to over 300 a month. Ruth described the sex ed team as the gateway for other services that Vumilia offers. The team encourages people to be tested at the VCT, and because they are out in the community they hear about cases of patients who are bedridden without enough help, and report to Rosemary, who can do home-based care outreach.
They all said they'll continure the work even without funding, but would appreciate new materials since all of their brochures are gone, and the flip charts are disintegrating. They had been having their transport costs covered, about 60 cents lunch allowance, and a stipend of about $1.50/teaching day.
Amazing women!
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