Mentioning the Unmentionables

I haven't seen the ads. I didn't know about this problem or this program, but Lily did.  In some parts of Africa, girls can't go to school because they don't have sanitary napkins or tampons. So there's an organization, Goods4Girls, that is providing them with re-usable "kits" to keep them in school. You can donate money or make kits to donate.

This boggles my mind and touches my heart. So much self-consciousness at that age (I assume it's universal). So much depends on being sure you won't "have an accident."

Here (no names will be mentioned) certain family members of both genders cannot be seen purchasing feminine products unless they are purchased with a quantity of other items. And come to think of it, I never bought a box of tampons without also needing a pack of gum or something to go with it. You know. In case the check-out clerk was noticing. We've got what we need in abundance and take it for granted to such an extent that we're embarrassed to buy it.

I'm not saying you should fall down on your knees in praise and jubilation when you're picking up unmentionables at the Piggly Wiggly. Assuming you still need them. But either way, some kind of gratitude is in order.

I recently wrote an article for a medical school about their students' experiences in global medicine. I interviewed umpteen students, far more than I needed. And no matter how I tried, I couldn't forget their disturbing stories. They made me want to go to medical school and save the world. Most of them planned to save the world when they finished their training. God bless them!

One young doctor needed to amputate a man's foot (a farmer who had a tractor accident) and there were no tools in his rural village that she could use for amputation. Not even a saw or a hatchet. They collected money to send him to a hospital in a bigger town. The hospital sent him back because they were full. The infection continued to spread, and when the young doctor left, he still hadn't been helped. I don't want to think about it.

Another group of young doctors was in another country when a young mother gave birth and started hemorrhaging. She needed transfusions, but there was no blood. The young doctors quickly typed themselves, and found enough matches among their group to donate enough to save her. The doctor who told me this story said it was such a strange experience to give blood, then to carry it to the patient. The patient recovered.

The stories went on and on. Stories about not having the right drugs, the right tools, the things we take for granted. Stories about children abandoned because they were imperfect. Stories about people sick from lack of food and clean water. My heart was burdened and I was and am in awe of these generous, young healers.

So much need in the world. Clean food and water, medical care and freedom are higher on my list than "reusable kits," but I think it would be a good mother-daughter project to make some and donate them.

I need to be a lot more grateful.