Lovemaking (Day 3)

On Monday, Miss Clara from the YMCA came over and hung out with us. We discussed possible topics for the sex education lesson that the YWCA asked us to teach the adolescent girls today. A lot of the issues that the girls face are not only due to a lack of knowledge of the biology and function of their bodies, but also the misunderstanding of the emotions and function of themselves as whole individuals; as ladies, as women, as girls. Basically, we need to teach them that females are strong, powerful, resilient, intelligent, and worth more than society (especially here in Belize) makes us out to be.
We were assigned to teach the Life Skills class this morning to the first and second year students. YWCA is a two year technical/vocational school for at-risk females ages 13-19 (e.g., dropped out of school, live in group homes, etc.). Our lesson covered the topics of hormones, lovemaking vs. sex, and hygiene. It was amazing that we were allowed to talk openly about sex and condoms, especially in a society (and school) that is so strongly Christian (which frowns upon premarital sex and contraception). Our class lasted two hours. They were eager to tell their stories, ask honest (and sometimes outrageous) questions, and just educate us on the sex culture of Belize and how much they knew about it. We emphasized that sex is very different from love, and if they love themselves the way they had described how they show love to others, then they should trust themselves to make choices that they will not regret for the rest of their lives. I should remind you that many of these girls have behavioral problems due to life experiences; and besides the 2 girls who were obviously asleep, the other girls were attentive and participating by the last 30 minutes of our class. I know our week here won’t change the community, but I’m hopeful that our work can inspire at least one student.
Later in the morning, Di and I helped at the daycare. We tried to keep them calm while their lunch was being prepared by playing games and Di telling them a story she just made up. A lot of them were starving for love and attention. One little girl came up to me and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. Once that happened, all 13 girls did the same. It was a great feeling to be able to show affection to the babies, however, they are all currently spreading the cold to each other. Some of the babies had globs of snot just hanging out on their face. So big, I had to ask “how did that even come out of your nose??” But there just weren’t enough staff members to keep an eye on all these children. I walked around wiping a lot of snot today and used a lot of hand sanitizer.

Di, Mariza, and I walked over to a street food vendor for lunch to have panedas and salbutes. Yummy fried goodness!

When we got back to the YWCA, the preschool was on their way out for a while, so Di and I offered to come along and help keep an eye on them. There were about 40 preschoolers with eight staff members walking down the streets of Belize City. We ended up at the Coca-Cola/Guiness distribution center where we got an impromptu tour and samples of soda (great idea for 4 year olds!).

Lauren held down the fort over at the Mercy Clinic since I was helping with the Life Skills class this morning. She was told a lot of corrupt stories about the clinic and the higher-ups, like withholding supplies and resources to individuals who have nearly nothing and stealing monies that are donated to the clinic. The Mercy Clinic helps so many people and seems like it's in so much need for a lot of things because they aren't adequately funded by anyone, but selfish and inconsiderate and corrupt people in power make it so these poor and vulnerable people don't get what they deserve. *sigh*

There was a peace march that Josh and Milea went to this afternoon to show solidarity against the recent gang violence in Belize City. Just in the past week, there have been stabbings and shootings, some of which were near us. But don't worry, we don't walk outside after dark and keep an eye on each other!

Miss Clara had food prepared for us at the YMCA. Apparently it didn’t mean she was having dinner with us though (because she had a meeting at dinnertime). To her, food is how she shows people she cares for them, even if she doesn’t get to share the actual meal with them. So we brought the coconut rice, chicken, fried plantain, salad, and juice back to Hotel Mopan and the eight of us debriefed around the dinner table. It was a rare, quiet, brief moment to be able to reflect on everything that's been happening and all that we have learned.