June 2024 Newsletter

National Menstrual Health Day Conference

On May 28, our program coordinator, Natihaika Msuya, participated in a Tanzania-wide health conference. A world-wide celebration, Safe Menstruation Day is dedicated to raising awareness about menstrual health and hygiene (MHH).  In Tanzania, the national celebration took place in Arusha, gathering various MHH stakeholders to highlight the importance of this issue.  Attendees included the Deputy Minister for Health, Hon. Godwin Mollel (Mb).  Natihaika had a chance to meet him and give an overview of the important work of Dignity for Daughters. 

Intern Jenna Schrankler in Tanzania

Jenna Schrankler, our 2024 Intern, was commissioned at St. Andrews Lutheran Church on June 12 and left for Tanzania the next day.  She and Natihaika have hit the ground running on a lengthy list of items to complete during her six weeks in-country.  A task Jenna will begin this summer and continue long- term is to promote DFD on social media, specifically Instagram.  Our goal is to spread the word about our work to a millennial and GenX audience.

Programming

Unpartnered Parishes have shown great appreciation for DfD program visits. The student feedback we receive asks for DfD to continue spreading education through mass media (this very much fits with Jenna’s work with social media).  Like our talks on Radio Furaha, using these tools will help reach more Tanzanians in a larger area.

Involvement of the Younger Generation

Two new student sewers are now working at the diocese office. As a part of their schooling, DFD staff is teaching them how to sew period kits.  The students have shared how hopeful they are to use what they learn to make kits in the future and be a part of providing sustainable resources to girls their own age. 

Instructional Approach Improvements

Natihaika, the Nurse Presenters and Jenna are working together to improve instructional approaches. They are adjusting the order of the slideshow to fit how topics are addressed, personalizing the information with photos, providing an interactive part by acting out scenarios and finally, using student response sheets as well as partner and small group discussions to allow for collaboration between the students and instructors for questions and answers.

Adult Forums or Temple Talks

Please remember that we would love to give a talk to members of your congregation or group!

We can be found at www.dignityfordaughters.org and contacted through dfdiringa@gmail.com.

Thank you for your interest and support of this important work!