Dom and I spent Wednesday creating a little project for the ladies. The women of the project share a very drab little room, so Dom and I thought it would be nice to add a little color to the room while educating them about HIV and how to live very long lives with the virus!!! We purchased bristol board and markers and spent the day creating posters with all of the information they needed about the transmission and care of HIV, the proper nutrition necessary to remain healthy, as well as clearing up some of the myths that people of this area generally hold. We spent the entire day making these posters and once we were finished we presented them to them, talked a little bit about the information that we provided, then hung them proudly on the wall!!! Our hope is that if new ladies join the group, or if other people ask these women about HIV, they will have all of the information they need to teach them all about the virus. These posters will also be helpful for future seminars that new volunteers will hold, as we plan on doing one at the end of the month before we leave for the school!!
We had a great time doing it, but the big lesson of the day came once we were done our own little project. Rose, one of the older ladies of the group, came to Sophia, Dom and I with an issue that she wanted help with. Having recently seen the doctor regarding a problem with her knee, Rose was given the news that she needed an operation to fix this. The problem, however, is that this operation will cost her 10,000 Ksh of which she obviously does not have and is unlikely to come into in the near future.
Recently, the ladies came into a bit of cash as a result of Dom and I purchasing some of their jewelery. Their rent comes due mid month, so we thought we would try and help them out by purchasing some of their work so they could pay their rent. Normally, this money would be split evenly between all of the ladies, but Rose and Sophia suggested that maybe a third of the money go to Rose and the rest be split between the rest. As Dom and I were not prepared to pay for the surgery ourselves, we thought that this was a great idea because it got Rose closer to her surgery, but allowed everyone to leave with a little bit of money in their pocket.
Rose and Sophia then brought the issue up with the group and requested everyones input before a decision was to be made so nobody would leave angry. The women agreed this was an alright idea because they were all hoping to get some of the money, but instead one of the ladies suggested that why don't they give all of the money to Rose this time and next time money comes to them the remaining women will just split it amongst themselves!! What an idea!! The ladies unanimously agreed that this was a great option and decided to give all of the money to Rose.
Though they all needed the money and had been patiently waiting a couple of days to receive it so they can pay their rent and buy food for themselves they preferred to give all of the money to their friend in need, without knowing the next time that they would receive money. I think we could all learn a little bit of a lesson from these women about the true meaning of giving. It was beautiful, and the look on Roses face when this was decided was one I will have trouble forgetting.
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