The pictures you see here, aside from being hysterically amazing, give you a tiny glimpse into Western attempts to improve Public Health in the Developing World. The one of Joey is him next to a Vagina Maze, that's right people, and the one of me is from an HIV awareness event at a military health clinic.
Let's start with the picture of me and the military men. The Togolese rely on skits to educate people on health and social issues in village settings and we were watching one when this photo was snapped. The plot line was typical to this part of the world: man sleeps with a woman besides his wives (yes, I said wives), contracts HIV, and gives it to his wives who also happen to be pregnant. Both of them.
The wives find out because they're the responsible ones who go to get tested, and are terrified of telling their husband. They eventually do, after tip-toeing around him and never questioning where he was the night before, or the night before that, or the night before that (even though they were just told they have friggin' HIV because of him!!!). I found this point in the drama alarming. Not only was the husband not questioned or reprimanded, the audience didn't seem to bat an eye about that missing bit of action.
Once informed of Wives diseases, Husband storms out without an apology or explanation (at which point I'm trying not to look to my left where all the women were sitting and give them a "why aren't you boo-ing and "hellz no-ing" at this chump?" look). Husband eventually gives wives leave to attend follow-up treatment to prevent mother-to-child HIV, which was the point of the skit. Gee, isn't that so modern of him? Meanwhile, his mistress is also pregnant, but doesn't bother receiving treatment, as she's not a Wise Wife figure in this story, and her (bastard) child ends up with the disease.
Sigh. It's important for U.S. development efforts to have a local flair like this, but sometimes it's hard when some of the messaging isn't exactly in line with our beliefs.
Another example of cultures colliding comes from a U.S. military Doc I met at a training I was able to attend in Germany. He was somewhere in Central Africa counseling a young woman on how to use condoms appropriately. He used a penis-like statue to show her how to safely put on and remove condoms, and made sure she understood by having her practice with a few condoms as well. Once he was confident in her technique, he sent her on her way.
She came back six months later and tested positive for HIV. The doctor was surprised, as she'd seemed eager to keep herself safe. He asked if she'd been using the condoms. Her response? "Yes! I even kept the condom statue by my bed to be extra sure I was protected!"
I don't tell this story to imply that people here are stupid. It just illustrates a deep chasm in communication and realities between our world and theirs. That, and it highlights how lacking basic levels of education are. The Dept. of Defense now uses more life-like dolls, complete with sex organs, to make sure nothing is lost in translation.
Joey and I also had the chance to spend two days at a Peace Corps camp for young girls who show leadership promise. One of the many activities they experienced over the week was a tour through a giant vagina. Now, the Peace Corps has no money, so this life-size vagina was made of pagne (African fabric) and wood. But the girls got a tour of their cervix and fallopian tubes nonetheless, and many were shocked. Most had no idea how their bodies worked before that. Ladies, try and imagine being 16 or 17 and not understanding where your period comes from or why you get pregnant. How are young girls expected to make smart decisions for themselves when they don't have the basic tools (knowledge, empowerment, etc) to do so?
I could go on and on, but I'll end with this: in the midst of all the struggles we're facing in the U.S. with our own country, take a moment to be grateful for the education, services and infrastructure we DO have. The little things we all take for granted, like Sex Ed, have huge impacts on our lives. Thank god I was never so in the dark! I'm also thankful I won the birth-right lottery and was born a woman in the United States in this century. It is heartbreaking how shitty women have it here.
