Namaste from Camilla (on the left) and Emma (on the right) in Pokhara! We both love to tell stories, illustrate and create unforgettable learning experiences for kids and the youth. In this sense, we have been so lucky to hold creative workshops for two weeks together with DIB's partner CHILDREN -Nepal.
Workshop 1: Menstruation
We held a workshop about menstruation for girls between the age of 10 and 14, where they learned about the menstrual cycle and participated to a creative exercise. Here they had to create their own "menstruation character": how does it look like, what is it afraid about, what are its dreams? Our translator and us shared our menstruation experiences and showed our menstruation characters.
The goal with the workshop was to normalize menstruations and make it less shameful for girls to talk to each other or to adults when they have questions. At the same time they also learned about menstrual health. It was incredible to see how they started to open up and share with each other, especially in a society where menstruations are often a taboo. Some of the girls hadn't gotten their period yet, or had never heard of it before. Others had experienced to be isolated in "menstrual huts" for a total of 7 to 20 days the first time they got their period. This was truly an educational workshop, also for us as facilitators, since we got an insight on how menstruations can be an incredibly traumatizing experience for some girls, in relation to its stigmatization. After the workshop more shared the story of their first period, and how they felt, and this helped them feeling less alone.
After the workshop the girls received a menstruation kit with reusable pads which were made by CHILDREN-Nepal, that also joined the workshop. CN would like to continue delivering menstruation workshops in more schools. We made a flyer that they can further use in their dissemination:
Workshop 2: drawing with nature
In our second workshop, children (both boys and girls aged 9-12) made drawings with natural materials. The goal was to strengthen their relationship with nature through the use of creativity, and to bring them closer to the local context through some practical exercises. The children should have first painted their favourite animal only using the color green and afterwards some fantasy animals only using the color brown. Every time they would get 10 minutes to run out and collect leaves or other natural materials, without destroying or hurting the environment. Afterwards, they told everyone why that was their favourite animal and shared fun facts about parrots, butterflyes, and mountains with each other.
Out time in Nepal gave us many educational conversations, especially about menstruation (in another culture). At the same time we experienced immense hospitality, an invitation to a colleague's wedding, and tours around the beautiful Pokhara. We hare deeply thankful for the experiences we made and the people we have met!
