Peace. Love. Pads.

12 hours later and I'm still riding a high. I've been struggling lately to find a purpose here and really feel like I'm making an impact and yesterday was the turning point for me.

I've been meeting with women's groups throughout my community and showing them this design for reusable sanitary pads. From the words of my friend Jimmy "gross but necessary". I know this concept seems so foreign to people living in the first world, we've gotten to a point where we don't even think about menstruation, but here in the village it's really a big deal. Pads can be bought at the local market for mk30 for one about one American penny. But when a young girl needs 4-5 a day, and mk30 can buy you a bunch of tomatoes or vegetables for lunch, what do you think they are choosing?

So the local "solution" is to tie a string around one's waist and tuck a chitenge (2meters of fabric) from the front to the back (through the legs). Now girls, ladies, women (boys I'm sure you can use your imagination) imagine walking around, going to class, to work, doing any daily activity on your period with a strip of cloth as your safety net so-to-speak. This "solution" isn't a solution, it's a pathway to disaster. Now add on the fact that you're 14, your culture doesn't talk about periods- not even your mothers, you're in middle school, no self confidence, and you have a period- why would you go to school? To feel ridiculed? Embarrassed? Ashamed? That's what these girls are dealing with EVERY month. Girls aren't empowered, they have no self worth, this is a problem and this is where I hope to find a solution.

So a few days ago I get contacted by a mothers group- their aim is to keep girls in school and they are interested in the pad project!! So yesterday I got to meet with 10 women who's aim is already to empower girls and teach them this simple design. We meet around two and start discussing problems and solutions and eventually we stop chatting and start sewing. The goal of this initial meeting was to show them how simple it is, let them try out the pads and brainstorm ideas of how to get these pads to the school girls. The women are super excited and want to meet again next month to start a Business plan, we are either going to sell them to raise money to make pads for the girls or write a grant to get supplies to make them for the girls at the school. This is the first step, introducing simple ideas and starting conversations. I'm obviously excited.

If you want to contribute to the pad project feel free to send: needles, string, old buttons, fabric scraps greater than or equal to one foot by one foot to:
Kristi Mathis, PCV
C/O Brooke Mancuso
P.O. Box 3
Bwanje health center
Bwanje, Ntcheu, Malawi
Africa

Never spent a better seven months

Seven months. Doesn't even seem possible. I can still remember crying at the airport and the anxiety I had on the plane wondering if this was the right choice. All though Malawi has brought many ups and many downs (sometimes all in the same day) I can honestly say that I'm happy I'm here.

Last night I got home from a two week training in Dedza and I came home to the best welcome. My neighbors had known I was coming and drew me water and as soon as I opened the door swept all the dust that had accumulated in two weeks from out of my house. They told me all about what I has missed in Kasinje, which didn't turn out to be too much and they were so excited. I really realized how blessed I am to have such a good support system here in my village, throughout Malawi with all the other pcvs and overseas with the best friends and family a girl could ask for

The last two weeks I learned a lot about technical skills and had the opportunity to bring along my Malawian counterpart. Also if you follow me on Facebook you probably noticed I had a good time with my American friends. We learned how to make jams, peanut butter, and healthy foods to implement good nutrition in our villages. We learned how to deal with borehole water spills, by adding community gardens where the water leaks out. We learned how to write grants, how to run businesses and my favorite we learned about pads. Yes pads. Most villagers in Malawi during their periods use a chitenge (a long price of fabric) and tie it around their waist like a giant diaper. This system as you can imagine has room for a lot of error. The chitenge can move or fall, causing leakage, messes and a wide array of smells.Not only does this discourage the girls from going to school while they are on their periods, they also are the sole responsibility of keeping the house running so periods cause great chaos throughout the village. These pads are made from old chitenges and only require a few simple stitches. I'm really excited to teach Malawian women about this simple trick and empower them to be confident while on their periods.

Other great women's empowerment news: I'm now the camper coordinator for camp GLOW (girls leading our world) I will be in charge of choosing the campers, helping run and plan the week and also counseling the girls throughout the week. I'm super excited to be part of this camp and work to make it the best camp ever. Last year Hillary Clinton came so there's big shoes to fill but I have faith in the team that was chosen to run camp glow this year!

This weekend I'm going to Lilondwe national park to count the animals. Yes mom I will finally see an elephant- it's about time. Haha. Until then, hope 'merica is awesome, miss and love you goons who follow me on here.