Listen Listening A handful of Southwest Florida women traveled through rural Guatemala this past November, distributing much-needed reusable menstrual kits they spent months creating. They include hand-sewn cotton bases that clip onto underwear, and tucked into them are flannel pads, which can be changed out and washed for reuse.
Medical experts in the Central American country say some women in rural areas there are isolated during their periods, sitting on rags at home, which can lead to health issues. The Fort Myers women also assisted with sex education workshops in places where that kind of conversation is taboo. A few of the young women are breastfeeding their babies, as Chajil talks to them about sex.
Then if they win and get five of their words in a row called out, they need to say the words aloud in order to get their prizes, which are school supplies. The women and girls say words like "orgasm," "testicles" and "contraceptive," among others. The women go on to learn how to use condoms and other safe sex practices. She says they need these talks here. She says this is important for the local community because some parents are afraid to explain menstruation to their young daughters or what it means to have sexual relations.
About 40 medicine women from across the area, wearing long colorful skirts, join hands with four volunteers from Fort Myers. They create a large circle, surrounding lit candles on the floor, thanking the earth and their ancestors for life. Then they dive into the workshop, which pretty much mirrors the first one along the lake.
But something happens at the end of this seminar that did not happen at the first one. When the Fort Myers women hand out menstrual kits, which include underwear and hand-sewn, reusable pads, many of the medicine women ask for more. One woman says she knows a healer who could not make it and she wants to bring her a kit. Other healers also ask for extras to share with women in their neighborhoods. Participant Estela Gonzalez, 23, talks about how something as simple as reusable menstrual kits can impact her and these women.
