Today has been awesome.
Today we went to GLOW girls in the small Muslim community and we had a translator there. Though she was a little bit late, which made me extremely nervous, she was there!
I was anxious/nervous to teach of course, but I really did not realize how extremely nervous I was to teach these girls about the menstrual cycle. We started off by doing a roll call and almost all of the girls from last week were at the group today. They brought the bags and journals that we gave them last week. We were STOKED. Not only had they kept everything, but they had been writing in them.
Anyway, I led an imagination workshop and asked them to close their eyes and imagine their life in either one week, one month, or years in the future. I asked them to imagine what it would look like if they had a happy life. I then asked them to take two minutes to either write or draw about this in their journal. Some were nervous but we asked them to finish it later when they were alone. After that, we jumped right into "what happens when a girl body becomes a woman body." I started to teach some of the things that happen during puberty and right away a girl asked why her breasts are sore. The lesson continued and we taught about the period and all of the things that go along with that. We talked about pads and I showed the pad I had made as well as a sample of the pieces of material used to make a pad. I passed around the pad and some of the girls would not even touch it. There was a very cautious vibe in the group and though I felt like I was almost walking on egg shells, I felt confident. By the end of the lesson Brooke, Annie, Eliza, Meera, Lindsey, and Julia had all shared experiences as to how this part of a woman's life does not have to be endured alone. We taught coping skills and taught them the importance of friends and sisters. Brooke emphasized that though we may not openly talk about our period with everyone does mean it is a bad secret, but rather we can talk about it amongst our friends and sisters and it can be a lady secret. It ended on a good note and our translator Urmi seemed impressed. I asked the translator to tell the girls that when I learned the information that we had just taught them, I felt stronger, braver, and more confident. I told them that understanding who they are is powerful and when we know more, we are happier.
Honestly, I cannot wrap my head around the lifestyles that exist outside of my wonderful little life in the USA. Just teaching about these things helped me realize how strong I can be, and how empowering it is to join together with others. I am so humbled and rewarded today with the girls that we get to teach. I am so grateful for the team here. I honestly could not do anything without their support. Knowing that someone else believes in me changes everything.
I was so worried that GLOW was not going to go well...I have been so worried that I will end up leaving India having done nothing. Today changed that. I feel pretty dang fulfilled right now.
Today we went to GLOW girls in the small Muslim community and we had a translator there. Though she was a little bit late, which made me extremely nervous, she was there!
I was anxious/nervous to teach of course, but I really did not realize how extremely nervous I was to teach these girls about the menstrual cycle. We started off by doing a roll call and almost all of the girls from last week were at the group today. They brought the bags and journals that we gave them last week. We were STOKED. Not only had they kept everything, but they had been writing in them.
Anyway, I led an imagination workshop and asked them to close their eyes and imagine their life in either one week, one month, or years in the future. I asked them to imagine what it would look like if they had a happy life. I then asked them to take two minutes to either write or draw about this in their journal. Some were nervous but we asked them to finish it later when they were alone. After that, we jumped right into "what happens when a girl body becomes a woman body." I started to teach some of the things that happen during puberty and right away a girl asked why her breasts are sore. The lesson continued and we taught about the period and all of the things that go along with that. We talked about pads and I showed the pad I had made as well as a sample of the pieces of material used to make a pad. I passed around the pad and some of the girls would not even touch it. There was a very cautious vibe in the group and though I felt like I was almost walking on egg shells, I felt confident. By the end of the lesson Brooke, Annie, Eliza, Meera, Lindsey, and Julia had all shared experiences as to how this part of a woman's life does not have to be endured alone. We taught coping skills and taught them the importance of friends and sisters. Brooke emphasized that though we may not openly talk about our period with everyone does mean it is a bad secret, but rather we can talk about it amongst our friends and sisters and it can be a lady secret. It ended on a good note and our translator Urmi seemed impressed. I asked the translator to tell the girls that when I learned the information that we had just taught them, I felt stronger, braver, and more confident. I told them that understanding who they are is powerful and when we know more, we are happier.
Honestly, I cannot wrap my head around the lifestyles that exist outside of my wonderful little life in the USA. Just teaching about these things helped me realize how strong I can be, and how empowering it is to join together with others. I am so humbled and rewarded today with the girls that we get to teach. I am so grateful for the team here. I honestly could not do anything without their support. Knowing that someone else believes in me changes everything.
I was so worried that GLOW was not going to go well...I have been so worried that I will end up leaving India having done nothing. Today changed that. I feel pretty dang fulfilled right now.
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