African exchange sees results
Something as small as a sanitary pad is making a huge difference in the lives of girls in an African village.
Thanks to the commitment of a 27-year-old Kenyan man, girls in Akonjo village are able to do something that was all but impossible before – attend secondary school.
Jimmy Ouma, who is currently visiting the North Okanagan-Shuswap, is that man.
“I saw how girls are being misused,” he said. “I saw a future in them that was being killed and I wanted to bring it to life.”
Although an unlikely project for a man, the sanitary pad project began when Ouma noticed girls would stay away from school when they were menstruating. It often became difficult for them to catch up on their studies and they would drop out, living their lives with only an elementary school education.
During a discussion with a teacher, the problem he had noticed as a youth was reinforced.
Ouma admits that it is and has been awkward for him to talk to people about sanitary pads.
Around the time of his meeting with the teacher, Ouma met Cathy Stubington, the artistic director of Runaway Moon Theatre in Enderby, who had travelled to Africa with an institute for community-based peace building.
Both artists, they are also both committed to social change.
“She shared the vision I had,” said Ouma. “If it wasn’t for her, I thought it wouldn’t happen.”
When he told her of the problem, she spoke to her choir group in Enderby upon her return to Canada. In the spring of 2006, they held a fundraiser in Salmon Arm’s Piccadilly Mall, raising enough money to buy a six-month’s supply of sanitary pads for 60 girls.
Although the immediate problem was solved, both Ouma and Stubington soon realized a more sustainable solution was needed. Through a continuing exchange of information and ideas between Ouma, Stubington and supporters, sewing machines were sent to Akonjo and a sewing project began.
Still, the project is evolving. Each girl was given a bucket and soap to launder their pads, but soap is in high demand. A soap-making project could be next. Also, during the rainy season, the pads don’t dry, so disposables might be needed during that time.
The sanitary pad endeavour is just one of several Ouma has been working on under the umbrella of a youth empowerment and health education project.
Stubington is committed to keeping the collaboration with Akonjo village an exchange of ideas and cultures between individuals and communities, not a case of stereotypical “helping” by a so-called “rich” country of a “poor” one.
Together, Ouma and Stubington have organized exchanges of art work between elementary schools in the district and Akonjo village, as well as soccer tournaments where local teams represent Akonjo teams and vice versa. Although boys in the village play soccer, girls didn’t but, thanks to the youth empowerment project, Akonjo girls held their first tournament ever.
“I want to empower youth to be good stewards of themselves,” said Ouma. “I want to empower youth with information and skills.”
Ouma would like Canadians to know the everyday things about Africa and his village: what food people eat, how they farm, how babies are named, the importance of singing, how people communicate, how families are structured.
To promote the higher education of girls, Ouma and his Canadian allies are raising money to build a girls’ change room at the school – an alternative to the crude outhouse they have been using.
“I want to see girls go through school and develop into people who will have a voice in the community and the society.”
To find out more about the project, e-mail cathys@uniserve.com.
Ouma will be at the Bean Scene Coffee House in Vernon to give a concert/presentation, organized by the Popoleko Balkan Choir, Oct. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. Vernon’s Jayme McKillop will also perform. Another event is scheduled for Enderby Oct. 26.
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