Dialogue｜The Missionary Mission Raises Sanitary Pads for Girls in Mountainous Areas: Menstruation need not be afraid, let alone shame
Recently, more than 40 teachers from the "Northwest Yunnan Teaching Mission" have posted videos of more than 6,000 sanitary napkins on the mountain.
In the picture, teachers and caring business people transport sanitary napkins to the mountains, distribute them to girls in the mountains, and conduct "physiological health classes" for them.
As an NGO founded in 2007, the Northwest Yunnan Missionary Mission has noticed that in the mountains on the border of Sichuan and Yunnan, the children's physiological knowledge is extremely lacking, and most of them don't know what menstruation and pregnancy mean.
The support group traveled all over the mountain schools near Lijiang, Yunnan, and offered physiology and hygiene classes to popularize physiological knowledge among local children. Teachers of the support group also used their personal social connections to recruit from the society.
"Not only donating sanitary napkins, but more importantly, passing on a healthy physiological and psychological concept to children." On September 27, Yang Xiting, head of the Northwest Yunnan branch mission, mentioned in an interview with The Paper that this is not only a In physical health classes or mental health classes, teachers also listen to various problems that children encounter, such as puppy love, loneliness, not being recognized, not being accepted, etc. If you go deeper, you will find that what children need is a kind of care and companionship.
[Conversation with Yang Xiting, head of the Northwest Yunnan Branch Church]
"Children cry after class, they need physiological knowledge too much"
The Paper: How did you notice the lack of physiological knowledge of children in the mountainous areas and think of raising sanitary napkins?
Yang Xiting
: We have noticed that children in mountainous areas lack knowledge of physiological hygiene.
Conditions in the mountainous areas are poor, and it is common for girls to go to school over age.
The teacher noticed that the female students sometimes didn't come to class. At first, they thought they were sick, but later found them lying in bed and menstruation. I don't know what happened.
Most of them are left-behind children. Coupled with the influence of their ideas, the elderly at home will not talk about this aspect.
We realize that this has the potential to affect girls' future health and fertility.
At first, there were no conditions for collecting sanitary napkins, so a physiological hygiene class was specially arranged for girls, and they were taught how to make simple sanitary napkins.
Later, the teachers of the support group launched their own social relations and contacted enterprises to donate sanitary pads to local girls.
The Paper: What is the main topic of the Physiological Hygiene class, and how do the children react when they are in class?
Yang Xiting
: From 2010 to 2014, many of the children finished their class crying.
They need physiological knowledge too much and want to know about it too much, but their parents won't tell them.
Not only are they unable to cope with their menstrual periods, but they don't even know what's going on with menstruation and pregnancy.
In fact, the course of physiology and hygiene does not need to be taught for a long time. One or two lessons can solve the confusion of girls about the body.
We hold two classes in a local school in one semester. Junior high school girls will come to listen. They are about thirteen to sixteen years old, and some are already seventeen years old, and elementary school girls who are about ten years old also come.
They urgently need to understand this knowledge, and also urgently need supplies such as sanitary napkins.
In the physiology and hygiene class, the teachers of the support group will prepare in advance.
Lectures have their own characteristics, ranging from menstrual shame to undifferentiated education, that is, gender-neutral growth.
There are also some hands-on links, such as making simple sanitary napkins, proper use of sanitary napkins, etc.
Our volunteer teachers are not only imparting physiological knowledge, but also fighting against primitive ideas and unhygienic habits.
The Paper: After taking this course, what changes have the children had?
Yang Xiting
: In recent years, around 2015, a big change in our class is that boys and girls take it together.
In the past, due to the conservative concept, the school generally did not allow boys to participate.
With the flow of information, children gradually become gender-conscious, and it is more necessary for boys and girls to take physical hygiene classes together.
At this time, we not only talk about menstruation, but also talk about the physiological structure of men and women, the physical and mental changes of puberty, etc.
Sometimes children are shy and embarrassed to ask questions. Our teacher will ask everyone to write the questions on small slips of paper, put them in the hat on the podium, and answer them one by one.
In remote mountainous areas, boys and girls take the same physical hygiene class, and they also need the support and understanding of local schools.
The support group first sent leaders to talk with the principals of each school, saying that this is a part of quality education and a course that is very important to students' mental and physical health.
Some principals are very supportive, but others are more traditional, worried that students will not cooperate, or that they will cause agitation in adolescence, or they are worried that it will be difficult to do without sanitary napkins after the teaching group.
In response to this situation, we will communicate with the principal many times to reiterate the importance and provide sanitary napkins that we have collected from the community.
"There is no need to be afraid of menstruation, let alone be ashamed"
The Paper: How to raise and distribute sanitary napkins?
Yang Xiting
: The teacher taught the use of sanitary napkins in class. Initially, the conditions were limited and there was no sanitary napkin. Even if he did, it would not help.
In 2014, the teachers of the support group launched their own social relations and contacted enterprises to donate sanitary napkins to girls in mountainous areas.
In recent years, the donation of sanitary napkins has not stopped, with an average of several thousand packs distributed to more than a dozen schools each year.
Quantity is not the most important thing, the important thing is to teach girls the correct attitude towards their menstrual period and their own bodies by distributing sanitary pads.
The teachers started from the reproductive organs with teaching aids, and then talked about the changes of puberty. For example, boys will grow Adam's apple and the voice will become thicker, and there may be nocturnal emission. Girls begin to develop breasts and have menarche.
This is the phenomenon of our body gradually maturing. It is a very beautiful thing. We do not need to be afraid, let alone be ashamed.
Some girls are afraid of bleeding, and the teacher will tell them that whether the pain during menstruation is related to their physical quality, bleeding will not bring life danger, and menstruation is a common thing that every woman will experience.
If someone takes this to shame you, have confidence and correct them with what you've learned.
After the lecture, the teachers handed out sanitary pads, which is a very natural process.
The distribution of sanitary napkins is very careful, and we have strict regulations and clear records for any donated materials.
The company donated 6,000 tablets this time, and our support group will plan according to the company's donation plan, such as how many children to donate, how many tablets per child, how long it can be used, and so on.
There are also some companies that have established long-term donation relationships with us, and our support group will make a transfer. After the company delivers the materials to the county seat, the support team and school vehicles will transport them to each school and each class.
The school and our teachers will jointly pay attention to the use of sanitary napkins and other materials. For example, if a girl has sisters at home, the teaching teacher will give a few more when they know these situations.
The Paper: What difficulties did you encounter when transporting sanitary napkins?
Yang Xiting
: The Northwest Yunnan Mission is next to the Jinsha River at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan. Basically, there are high mountains and canyons with large height differences. There are also winding mountain roads. There are only 20 to 30 kilometers of mountain roads on the map. It may take two hours to drive. The pressure of transportation and cost too much.
Many drivers refused to deliver things to the mountains as soon as they heard about it, so since 2014, the mission support group has established its own pickup truck fleet, using drivers with more than ten years of driving experience.
In bad weather, it is common for the car to get stuck in the mud or have tire problems.
This also makes us cherish the material very much.
In some places there is no "last mile" and we will use tractors or human transport.
Before the support group, there was no motorcade, and all the materials were carried by the teachers. We are used to doing something for the children.
Including the transportation of materials between villages and villages, it also depends on the teachers of the teaching group and the local principal.
This time, the company sent the supplies to the county seat, and finally there was no road. The teachers in our support group came up with 6,000 pieces of sanitary napkins on their backs.
The Paper: How is the use of sanitary napkins for girls in mountainous areas now?
Yang Xiting
: Since 2018, there have been supermarkets selling sanitary napkins in bigger towns and villages, and girls in central schools have been able to buy them.
However, there are still no small remote villages dozens of kilometers away from the county seat.
Girls who have attended classes and have the awareness of using sanitary napkins may ask their brothers and sisters who are studying in the county and township to help them buy them. However, most girls are still struggling with economic conditions, and some families may only give their children half a month. 100 yuan living expenses, basically only enough to eat and buy some school supplies.
For many girls, sanitary napkins are a luxury item, and they use as much as our mission group can distribute, and they cherish them very much.
"What children need is a kind of care and companionship"
The Paper: It has been more than ten years since the popularization of physiological knowledge for girls in mountainous areas. What do you think is the greatest significance of supporting education?
Yang Xiting
: The most obvious improvement is that the children have the correct physiological knowledge.
For children, the earlier they learn about healthy physiology, the better they can deal with puberty and gender relationships.
Now that the Internet is developed, instead of letting children guess, it is better for teachers to instill scientific knowledge and positive concepts earlier.
Some children may go to work after junior high school. If they do not have the awareness of health and safety, they may encounter problems.
Our original intention is for all children to receive scientific physiology education.
Talking about the knowledge of physiological hygiene is only the beginning for us.
Since the establishment of the teaching support group in 2007, we have provided 5,000 teachers in 15 years. In addition to teaching support and physical education, we have also carried out vocational education and mental health education.
We will regularly study the collected problems, not only adolescent problems, but also some psychological problems, such as puppy love, loneliness, etc.
We will use half an hour before going to bed to communicate with the children, and we will also leave messages to the children when approving homework.
In the physiological hygiene class, the female teachers appeared in a very friendly image and distributed sanitary pads to the girls. Many girls would quickly establish contact with the teacher and tell the teacher many little secrets. From this perspective, we It's not just donating a batch of things or donating sanitary napkins. If you go deeper, you will find that what children need is a kind of care and companionship.
Intern Su Ying surging news reporter Yu Yan