STD Workshop

Hello Everyone!

Nairobi is still great! Of course, it's not home. I miss everyone so much and, much to my surprise, I miss the cold weather! I look outside everyday expecting to find cloudy skies, drizzle, and biting winds but only see the odd white cloud amidst blue sky and no breeze. Really, I'm not trying to rub it in or anything but I really do miss the cold!

Anyways, like I may have told some of you, I was invited to do a sexual health workshop for grade 8's this passed Saturday. The kids came from a slum here in Nairobi called Mathare. There is an association here called the Spanish Speaking Women's Association and they help out at the slum by pretty much providing the whole school! The teachers, the building...everything! They're even sending some of the kids who are graduating from the primary school (1-8) to secondary school. Unlike how it is back home, parents have to pay for their kids to go to high school. It's really sad because most parents don't have the capital to do so and even if they do, they prioritize their kids and usually send the boys.

So, this Saturday I gave a half-day presentation on everything I know about reproductive health! It was...interesting! I got a lot of giggles when I pulled out the banana for my condom demo, but other than that the kids were really great. I didn't get a lot of questions but I chalked it up to the kids being shy. Plus, the questions I DID get were really good. There are some really smart kids in the group! I talked to this one boy, I think his name was John, and he said his favourite subject was mathematics. I really liked him. I was also challenged a bit by the teacher. He commented on my HIV/AIDS section on being a little dark, I think. I was trying to explain to the kids that viruses can't be cured and HIV happened to be one of them. So, of course if you contract HIV you can't get rid of it! I think the teacher wanted me to give the kids a little more...hope. Haha, I explained to him that I would try my best but wanted to give them the grim facts and perhaps scare them into using condoms!

Other than that, nothing more to report! I'm still having a good time! Now, I am excitedly anticipating Matt's little sister Jenn and her fiancee Paul to arrive in Nairobi for Christmas! We will be heading down to Tanzania for part of it as Matt and Jenn's Aunt Mary and Uncle Duncan has generously given us a two-night stay at a hotel near Kilimanjaro! I want to take this opportunity and thank them very much!! I'm looking very forward to it and can't wait to write about it next!

See you all soon!

Jess