With Gratitude
Written on November 25, 2019
I’m sitting in the little dining area of our little apartment in Puerto Rico. We’ve come to see our son and celebrate Thanksgiving together with him, our daughter and her husband who arrive later today. It will be an unusual Thanksgiving for us as we are mostly home with family in cold November weather. Today it will be 88 degrees and we’ll be doing Summer kind of things instead of thinking about snow shoveling. I’m feeling pretty blessed.
I’m also feeling incredibly grateful for all that The MoonCatcher Project has done this year. Our annual report just came out. It’s always a humbling experience to gather all our data in one place and look at what we’ve accomplished. When we are in the midst of the work it’s hard to step back and see just what we’ve done. Monica Tan, our incredible graphic designer, is thoughtful and exacting. She makes sure we include all the pertinent facts and figures while telling our story in a way that brings the energy and compassion alive.
We’ve been doing lots of MoonBees in the last couple of months. Every place we walk into has a buzz about it that constantly reminds me how important this work is. Schools especially have taken notice. Sage College in particular has included us in a semester long service project that has raised awareness through social media and raised funds as well. Girls scouts, high school groups, Union College clubs, and others fill our MoonBee spaces more and more. It’s heartening to me to see so many younger people taking this on and using their energy and fresh eyes to help address the issues of menstruation awareness throughout the world.
Mitzvah Day at Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady. Always a fun event
India, Malawi, Uganda and Kenya are sending success stories about the usefulness of our Mooncatcher kit. Every one of our guilds has increased the number of kits that they are making. They have gotten much more efficient and are able to take on more work. They send videos of their tailors too. These videos tell us how being able to do this work helps these women support their families or start side businesses of their own to increase sustainability. I can’t watch these videos without tears in my eyes. This is just what I dreamed of.
Phoebe, from Uganda, was here in September and October. She spoke with many groups about our new boys curriculum and how it is changing the environments of schools in Uganda. When boys know what is happening to girls they become willing to help be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Boys say they would help a girl by offering a sweater to wrap around her waist should a stain show, or bring water to the girls latrine for washing while changing a pad. They have stopped teasing and humiliating girls now that they know what is happening. In the past this humiliation would make a girl not return to school. It has been eye opening for me. I now know that part of our job is to educate boys and men and not assume that they know any of this. I was angry about their behavior but like everything else education is the key to change.
On our way to JFK to send Phoebe home, we stopped for a hike at Mohonk Preserve. So beautiful!
I am grateful to everyone involved in this project. Thanksgiving seems the perfect time to reflect on this and truly count my blessings. Thank you all. You make my heart sing.