The Sagalla Women Membership has been receiving coaching on menstrual well being and life abilities from the collaboration of the KUJUWA Initiative of SOKO Neighborhood Belief and Save the Elephants. The Women Membership is comprised of younger girls from Mwakoma, Kirumbi, and Mwambiti and of round 10-20 years previous. They get cut up into two groups- major and post-primary- primarily based on their age and degree of schooling. The coaching modules began in March of 2022, and this previous January I had the pleasure of serving to Challenge Chief Esther Serem and assistant Grace Wairimu with one in every of these trainings. The matters for this week’s coaching have been teenage being pregnant, STIs and stigma, drug and substance abuse, and resilience.
An interactive session led by SOKO Neighborhood Belief with the ladies © Sarah Kunkel
I adopted Grace as much as the Ladies’s Eco-Enterprise Heart (WEC) feeling each nervous and excited. Would the ladies like me? What if I can’t talk with them properly? Will they choose me for being this sweaty? What in the event that they don’t like me? I hope I can play some video games with them! Why can’t I cease sweating?
My curiosity was met with their very own to match. Huge eyes and whispers stuffed up the corridor within the centre. I met the trainers whereas they have been on the point of begin the lesson for the day. I used to be with the first group, and after I smiled and waved, just a few of the braver youthful ladies sat close to me. “Jambo!” I mentioned with a wave and bought smiles and giggles in return. Straightforward crowd.
One of many little ladies shies away as quickly because the digital camera is pointed in her route © Sarah Kunkel
Regardless that the trainings are given in Swahili, I used to be capable of comply with together with the essential matters. The older and youthful ladies have been being taught about resilience, and lots of have been desirous to contribute their solutions for being robust within the face of assorted conflicts. They broke up into teams to debate solutions to downside situations.
Throughout a mandazi and juice break, I turned the preferred particular person in Sagalla. A couple of of the youthful ladies introduced out a ball and began forming a circle. One little lady grabbed my hand and invited me to play. I set my digital camera down and hoped no matter buried highschool athletic abilities I had would magically resurface. I wasn’t positive what sport was about to begin, however realized shortly that it was maintain away, or “Pickle in a Dish.” Regardless that I grew up on the opposite aspect of the world, I had performed the identical precise sport at this age.
I had simply met these ladies and was already included of their enjoyable and video games. Their fast openness and kindness in the direction of me didn’t go unnoticed. As soon as I used to be hitting the early phases of warmth exhaustion, I stepped away from the sport and a bunch of older ladies waved me over. One lady knew English very properly and translated for the remainder of her mates, and in flip, translated their questions for me. The questions I obtained from the youthful and older ladies had a stark distinction. What was as soon as “what juice do you want?” was now “why don’t you’ve gotten any kids?”
I used to be a different-looking instance of what they’ve been studying about with these trainings; I used to be an instance from exterior of their small neighborhood that it was okay to not have kids early and to proceed your schooling after secondary college.
A consultant from SOKO Neighborhood Belief main the session © Sarah Kunkel
The remainder of the week I resumed taking photographs, having my hair styled and performed with, serving to put collectively lunch dishes, listening to the trainings, and taking part in video games with the ladies on their breaks. The women of each age teams bought extra comfy with me hanging round, and it was nice to see them actually partaking on this week-long coaching. On the finish of the week, the ladies obtained girls’s hygiene merchandise, and a few of the youthful ones obtained toothpaste and toothbrushes. Even when having some conversations about psychological well being with the older ladies, I might discover simply how a lot they realized from the Women Membership. One of many ladies was highlighting the significance of getting a powerful help group to lean on throughout troublesome instances. I smiled to myself as a result of that was one thing I had realized and targeted on with my private experiences in remedy, and now they too may have that of their toolbox when coping with arduous instances.
I mentioned goodbye to the older ladies that have been leaving and began performing some dishes whereas the youthful ladies have been nonetheless taking part in. As I used to be a couple of quarter of the way in which by means of cleansing, I observed a shadow blocking the doorway. I seemed up and noticed the group of women that have been taking part in all standing and watching me. They requested if they might assist me with the dishes in order that I might end and play with them sooner. I mentioned sure, and all of them rushed over to assist me. After the dishes have been glowing clear and our fingers pruned, we performed the previous few rounds of maintain away. The women all gave me a large group hug and we mentioned our “kwaheri’s” to one another.
The women and I posing for a memorable photograph © Grace Wairimu
Regardless that they realized about totally different severe matters this week, one theme continued throughout- and that was laughter. Laughter doesn’t have to be translated from Swahili to English. And neither does kindness. These ladies may need totally different points occurring of their residence life, however daily they got here with keen and open minds. They have been at all times able to study methods to enhance themselves and their futures. Earlier than they even knew something about me, I used to be invited to affix them in having enjoyable. I’ve been lucky sufficient to be born in the precise place and proper time, and have been capable of attain a top quality schooling all through my life. Most of those ladies won’t ever see the privileges that I’ve been capable of see, and I’ll by no means have to fret about an elephant ruining my household’s yearly earnings or with the ability to afford a brand new college uniform. There are such a lot of variations between my previous and theirs, however all of our totally different journeys introduced us collectively. And in that togetherness, we have been capable of join by means of enjoyable, happiness, and humour.