I was privileged to be part of a team of four Canadian women, literally from coast (Comox, British Columbia) -to-coast (Antigonish, Nova Scotia), who took part in Days for Girls (DfG) in two areas of Honduras. The first four distributions of menstrual health information and washable-reusable menstrual kits took place in the Comayagua region, with the latter four in the Tegucigalpa area.
During the first session, eighty-four women and girls received the menstrual health education from Dr. Nicole Suazo, a passionate young Honduran doctor dedicated to improving the health of women and girls. She presented outdoors, behind a community centre, where sloping topography produced a natural amphitheatre. Mother Nature cooperated for the two hours spent with these girls and women with the rain holding off.
Distributions two, three, and four were held in community centres with groups of women and girls. Dr. Suazo continued to deliver the message of menstrual health, for the most part following the outline provided by Days for Girls International. In addition, she explained the strong connection between cervical cancer and the papillomavirus, with the solution being vaccination against this virus. This vaccine is available to Honduran women and girls.
After the fourth and last distribution with Dr. Suazo, a woman participant gave a very moving thanks to the doctor and the other DfG representatives for the opportunity to learn and discuss menstrual health in a factual, open, and supportive venue. This encounter was organized by Cecilia Guifarro, a leader in the Lejamani community.
The first of three distributions in the Tegucigalpa area took place in a Cantarranas community centre with more than one hundred women and girls. Dr. Carla M. Carcamo, a medical doctor and Rotary Club Villa Real de Tegucigalpha member, did an admirable job presenting the DfG program to the group. Ayaviel Ramos Moncado of Educate2Envision International organized this location next to a school and provided a projector in order that all participants had visual access to the DfG flipchart diagrams.
The second distribution of the day, also organized by Ayaviel, took place at a school. He was able to provide a second projector, allowing Dr. Carcamo to lead the session with the women and mothers and Wendy Ayestas, a DfG ambassador and Honduran Rotary member, to lead the session for the 10- to 14-year-old schoolgirls. This allowed the menstrual health information to be tailored to the knowledge and experiences of each group.
The last location was at Manuel Bonilla school in Sero Grande where three sessions took place, one for each of Grade 5, 6, and 8 girls. Wendy led the Grade 6 and 8 sessions, and Nicole McCormick, a seventh-year Honduran medical student, lead the Grade 5 session. All the students left with greater knowledge and a washable reusable menstrual kit to manage their menstrual needs.
These distributions would not have been possible without the transportation, lodgings, and coordination provided by the members of the Comayagua and Tegucigalpa Rotary Clubs and their members, nor the multitude of people who support the Comox, Fredericton, and Haut-Saint-Laurent Days for Girls sewing teams. An enormous thank you to all who are helping improve the menstrual health of girls and women in Honduras and around the world.