Gender Issues/Children

I am currently at Ssanje at Sabina. The day of our swearing in (Oct. 8) was quite monumentous. Not only did we become volunteers, but many of us voted for president of the US and it was the day before Uganda's Independence Day (Oct. 9, 1962). I realize that I have not written in quite some time and there are a lot of issues which I have not discussed, so here it goes...Early on girls learn that they are supposed to be submissive to their boy counterparts. A lot of this is learned in the schools. When my homestay brothers tell me that their sister does not have any opinions, and she does not say anything against those accusations, I can see this. When I tried talking with my sister one-on-one she often never had any opinions to give. It was only later that she started to voice her opinions and a few feelings, but I had to push them out. My other sister, who is basically the maid of the family, is working in order to pay for school fees which she cannot affort currently. However, she has not been paid since working with my homestay family (about 4 months). I could only give her my support for talking with the head of the household, but she did not want to face her. At Sabina, girls are only given 5 menstrual pads per terms (approximately 4 months). As a result, the girls use whatever they can find as pads, or they just do not go to school. I am hoping to start making reusable menstrual pads with the girls over their holiday break which is coming up in the middle of December. Along with making the pads, a pamphlet related to their body (inner and outer reproductive areas with a diagram) and what happens during menstruation, in addition to how to clean the pads will be included so girls can educate themselves and each other. When discussing gender roles the majority of what I found was that women's roles are to create children (not to mention the hard labor of carrying water, cooking, and raising the children). An average Ugandan family has appoximately 6.7 children. Rather than our American idea of the parents raising the children to the best of their ability so that someday they will help their parents when the children grow older, many Ugandan families utilize their children for labor. Children here are incredibly mature and lack that spoiled quality which develop in many children in the US. Yes - I do enjoy the children here much more than children back home. A huge issue which children face here, especially OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children) is not being able to pay for school fees. While the school may be free, the books, school uniform, and other "musts" which need to be brought each term are not and thus prevent many children from going to school because many parents do not make enough money for all of their children to attend.