Teen Girls Health & Empowerment in Uganda

Teen Girls Workshop

At the end of an already incredible summer, as one of the last interns to remain at the Volunteer House in Luwero – I had the sacred pleasure of meeting a group of bright, young girls at a local school near Wobulenzi.

Riding shotgun was Joy, one of the awesome midwives at Shanti who was expecting a bundle of joy (quite the namesake!) and collaborated with me over the course of a week to teach, share, and relish in the precious moments we could with such vivacious young girls.

As the week quickly approached, I remember being so frantic. I made a trip over to Rita’s house for a debrief on the previous year’s expectations, any curriculum/information we could include and of course, the art of making handmade sanitary napkins! The whole process felt so grounding. Rita was such a sport to help out despite having recently had surgery but was on the road to a quick recovery. She was certainly with me in spirit!

The day came to presenting the first class prepared by Shanti staff and so Joy gave an in-depth discussion about puberty, physical growth, and reproductive health. Most importantly, she gave great advice to the young girls about being patient with themselves through this next stage in their physical, mental, and emotional development. It’s easy for youth to compare themselves to others and before they know it they’ve adopted a self-image that isn’t theirs. It felt like a critical time for these girls – they had so many questions and best of all it followed by a fit of giggles! The information sessions with Joy was followed by an introductory yoga session with none other than me!  I facilitated yoga exercises with the WIGG women all summer but there was something so nerve-wracking about working with young girls who had literally never done yoga before. I was confident in my experiences with yoga to create an ambience with the group that would let them explore new exercises to practice mindfulness, relaxation, breathing techniques, and lastly, a good stretch. I encouraged them to supplement the healthy eating habits that Joy had informed them about with a daily dose of exercise to support their overall good health. It was so well received! I admit, I didn’t want the days to end. We continued the next day with some great discussions on practicing Healthy Relationships with their peers and being able to differentiate between romantic and platonic partners. Ultimately, it was meant to help them make choices that they feel most comfortable with. The empowerment piece of these workshops reminded me of how impressionable I was at their age and having positive older role models truly helped get me through the sensitive time period in one piece. With such warm reception, I felt it necessary each day to stay behind and answer any questions or concerns the young group had. Fellow neighbors came around and hung out with us, listened to some music and enjoyed a wonderful sunset before heading back to Luwero.

It is indescribable how wonderful this experience was for me. I don’t remember laughing so hard with so many beautiful smiles staring back at me. I felt humbled by this experience, to say the least! I didn’t want to leave. If all goes well, I hope to see these young girls again and if I’m lucky, be part of the magic that is the Teen Girls workshop.