VM and more Binti

So I started the vagina monlogues project with the girls. I had them sit and write a story about what is like to be a woman in Africa. They were told to pick an aspect of feminity and write a story that happened to them or someone they know. The stories were really good and I got topics on abortion, teenage pregnancy, puberty, rape, theft, corruption, gender roles and more. The next few times we met I chose the stories which I felt were well written and displayed a personal story about African feminity. Then I read the stories aloud, and after each one we started a discussion on what the story was talking about, what would you do if you were the person in the story, how can we address this issue, how can you protect yourself etc. The girls are so bright and aware of the world that sourronds them and had great input and strong opinions about their stories. While these topics are talked about regularly, I think it is really crucial for them to hear each others stories and know how common these experiences are for women, no matter how taboo. I hope I got them to think about how much they have experienced as a group and how important it is to support and relate to each other.

We have also continued improv dance lessons and I have been trying to teach them to share weight. We do small excerises experimenting with leaning on each other and moving your center of gravity with another person. They did well, but the biggest struggle is laughter. Those girls could laugh from dawn until dusk, no matter what they do. It's hard for me to force them to focus because I am so glad they are having fun.

We come home a week from tomorrow! We are trying to pack in boxing, work, nice dinners, shopping, goodbyes, and packing into our last 9 days. I am sad to be leaving, but really miss home too.

alisa