Malawi Day 6: Charlotte teaches the class!

We met Emmanuel, our partner in Mzuzu, at St Peters Catholic Secondary School. About 100 girls crowded into a classroom meant for maybe 50. After Olipa and Emmanuel introduced everyone and spoke about why we were there we invited Charlotte to teach the class.

WOW! She was riveting. She had just the right mix of humor and seriousness to keep every eye on her. She was animated and spoke with confidence. She made sure each concept was clearly articulated and understood before moving to the next piece of information. The students loved her and followed her every move. By the time she tried on the kit she held them in the palm of her hand and when it came time for questions she was ready with answers. These girls were older students and not shy like the girls we met yesterday. They asked plenty of questions and readily told us of their hopes and dreams and their desire to study hard to achieve these goals. I wish I’d taken video of the entire thing. It was so much fun to watch. I felt like a proud mom though it was all Charlotte doing an expert job.

Emmanuel and Olipa piped up now and then to make sure Charlotte was understood but they didn’t need to add much. We had Emmanuel and his wife Jubilee hand out the kits while Olipa handed out lollipops. Photos outside with the whole group were silly and enjoyed by everyone.

We spoke with the head teacher along with five girls that expressed an interest in helping the MoonCatcher Project. We dubbed them MoonCatcher Ambassadors and asked that they be the go between for the students and teachers as well as Emmanuel. We also asked them to be sure water was brought to the toilets each morning and placed inside the latrine so girls can privately wash. We will find a bucket for them to fill.

Next, we went to St Andrews Episcopal Primary School. Emmanuel already went to this school about five months ago and gave out kits. We were interested in speaking with some of the girls about their reactions to our product. These girls were strong, smart, and confident. We interviewed 5 girls individually asking them about their experiences using these pads. They had great answers about comfort, lack of expense and no staining. We asked what they had been using prior to receiving a kit, and found out that they relied mostly on torn up old cloth. They talked about the discomfort of using pieces of cloth, the stains and worries about infection. After pictures we waved goodbye.