My second main project is working with the mom’s clubs here in Oki and in the surrounding communities. Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I travel with my good buds, the catholics, to the rural communities outside of Okinawa. These little pueblos have anywhere from 80 to 500 inhabitants, and we go to meet with the mom’s clubs where we teach classes on nutrition, women’s health, self-esteem, hygiene, and trash, of course.
We talk about malnutrition and the importance of the proteins and vitamins found in meat, soy, and vegetables, we talk about the value of women and how we support and depend on one another as family members and friends, we talk about hygiene and how washing your hands keeps you healthy and can save your kids lives, and we talk about mucus. And not the kind that comes out of your nose.
The ladies, chatting about how they each contribute to their community.
Debatably our most popular topic, the catholics and I go into great detail with these shy and giggly women about women’s fertility cycles, blood, mucus and all. It’s an absolute riot. We call it Foco en el Moco, which translates nicely to Focus on the Mucus. In addition to learning about their reproductive systems and understanding their menstrual cycles, women learn the signs of their bodies to know when they are fertile and when they are not. While, out of cultural sensitivity, we don’t encourage anyone to make fewer babies (or more for that matter) these women are definitely interested in understanding where all these kids came from. One woman at our meeting yesterday is a mother of fifteen. Another has eleven kids. Neither knew why she has her period or when she is fertile (frequently would be a good guess). Our goal with these classes is to put more knowledge in the hands of these women to serve their health, self-esteem, and decision making power. And, as it turns out, getting into the nitty gritty of how stretchy, sticky, or slippery you’re feeling on any given day is a universally good time amongst the ladies.
Me and the catholics explaining the mysteries of the menstrual cycle
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