A Busy Day at the Center

---

Today was a great learning day at the Center.

In the morning we dealt with an issue related to some children who live at the center. Recently the center became aware of a small (elementary aged) boy who was living on the streets alone in a dog house. They brought him into the center to live. But as to be expected, he has received no parenting or guidance. He encouraged other children at the center to do things they should not. The center now has the hard task of figuring out how to discipline each child involved. It reminds me how lucky we are that this is not an issue we deal with on a regular basis.

After that, we did a home visit to a family that used to live close to the center and now live about an hour away in the countryside. We visited the home and then went to the school that the teenaged girl attends. The government is supposed to supply funds to pay for lunch at school. The funds never arrive so instead the parents pool money to pay for lunch. There is one donor who will drop off rice and noodle when he can. Aside from that, the school is able to supply lunch to 90 kids a day, 5 day a week for $.75 USD per student per MONTH. Note in the pictures that the daughter is carrying an egg baby around with her, just like we did in school.

In the afternoon I taught our first knitting class with the teen mothers. They enjoyed learning the basics of knitting, but the real reason to be there was to have hard conversations about what comes next for them. Will they continue their education, how will they support their children, can they wait to have more children.

In the evening we had our second sex education class at the shelter. We really focused on birth control and protection from STDs. The cooper IDU inserted it the arm (not into the cervix which is the more common method in the US) is the most common birth control here. This method is affordable, minimally invasive, and last 3-5 years. It is preferred over the shot since it lasts for years instead of months. This method was also common in Uganda. We emphasized in the lesson that while this prevents pregnancy it does not protect them from STDs. We finished the evening with explaining the reusable period kits that they can use, wash, and repeat.

---