Two of the main health sections involved learning about
Malaria and HIV/AIDS. It was great to hear all the questions they had and
listening to some of the myths that exist here in relation to these common diseases.
Arielle once again did her fantastic “Sexual Relations” talk and all the
girls/volunteers had an opportunity to get a free HIV testing.
During the HIV/AIDS session.
I helped present the session on “Goals” (Elizabeth was sick,
once again ;). Girls were asked to decide what their goal was, obstacles they
would encounter, and what they could do to overcome the obstacles. The Mozambican
counterpart leading the session, Sónia, did a fantastic job. She engaged the
girls and made the activity a lot of fun. Her example was that she wanted to be
a famous singer and had all the girls singing Passaro de Fogo by Paula
Fernandes along with her. This song was played all the time when I first came
to Mozambique and is still one of my favorites. It was absolutely adorable
because almost all the girls knew the words by heart. Wish I had a video of it
to show you all!
The most difficult session was about creating a unique
product in your community and how to sell it to make a profit. Most Mozambicans
I know struggle with money. They are never taught how to manage their money or
even save it. If they receive money, it is always spent within a few hours (no
piggy banks here). Local businesses here are all the same and the kids who sell
cell phone credit make hardly any money. As I mentioned in a previous post, an
Expatriate here named Eduardo was here in Mozambique for five years trying to teach/implement
programs on entrepreneurship. He even created a program for a high school class
on entrepreneurship that I know at least one Peace Corps volunteer has taught. It’s
a great program and students are learning, little by little. With REDES, girls
have sold lots of things in the past like peanut butter, jewelry, and purses.
During this workshop, girls were shown mathematically what they needed to
calculate to make sure they were making money and the importance of being
financially independent was stressed on multiple occasions. When they were
finished, the participants got hands on experience learning how to make peanut
butter.
Making peanut butter. All you need are roasted peanuts,
sugar, and salt. Easy and fun, viola!
One of the last sessions was about violence against women
(depressing) but it was countered with REDES Fame. All the Mozambican
counterparts (Zizi, Esperança, Sónia, and Muazareia) were asked to talk about their
lives to show the girls that if these women could do all these great things,
they can too. The most inspiring talk was given by my friend, Muazareia. During
the Training of Trainers she had led many of the sessions. She was funny,
energetic, well informed, and a great speaker. I was constantly impressed by
everything she did and was so glad to see such a strong Mozambican role model.
It was during her speech about her life story that I learned how she became the
woman she is today. Muazareia is only 19 years old (!!) and from Angoche, a
site that has had Peace Corps Volunteers for over ten years. It was hard for
her to pay for high school because her father died and left them with no money.
She had to work/take care of her siblings and mother while trying to study when
one day, a man attempted to sexually assault her when she was walking back
home. Going to REDES meetings helped her through this period in her life and
she finally graduated from high school last year. She applied to get into a
teacher training institute a few months ago but was rejected because she had
not bribed the admissions officials.
Lots of tears were shed during her speech (including mine)
and it was nice to see how much her story had an impact on the girls. Muazareia has had a very difficult life so
far but just looking and listening to her, you know she’s going to do great
things in the future. My admiration and pride in her has grown so much over
these past few days. I feel lucky to have met her and call her a friend. It’s
comforting knowing that we are leaving Mozambique in the very capable hands of
women like her. I also hope that, as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I am making a
difference in the lives of people in my community. I know for certain the
volunteers in Angoche who came before us did.
Muazareia and I with the
abandoned kitten (Juju). His back legs stopped working after a kid threw a rock
at him.
Team Meconta: Sofia, Samira, Laura, and Beatriz.
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