Girls Camp

I was in a village a little north of me and doing the first meeting on mud stoves, there are 3 in the series. Ive previously done composting and crocheting with plastic bags with these women. I get through explaining how to make a mud stove and what they are going to need on the next meeting. Next I ask if there are any questions. The normal questions arrise about where they can find the things needed for the next meeting and then the normal responses of other women telling them they know where to find the clay. Then one woman asks what if its raining? Which my responce is, well if its raining then itll be that much easier because to mix the mud you wont have to haul as much water and since there is a pretty big margin for error in the correct consistancy of the mud its ok if some is wetter than others. I also tell them that we will be building the stove under a roof, as thats one of the requirements mentioned in the first meeting so we can all stay relatively dry. Rain is not an issue. Then they all kind of look at eachother with faces that tell me something is wrong and that Ive assumed something I shouldnt have. The same woman explains a bit further, our husbands wont be able to work in the fields when it rains, and so they will be home, which means that we will all have to be home to entertain them. My jaw dropped a little bit before I recovered composure. In the states I would have told them to tell their husbands they could go without a rainy days entertainment for one day, and really do their husbands own them. Unfortunately here I know that is actually the case in most circumstances, women cannot do a whole lot without their husbands permission and if hubby says I need you to wait on me hand and foot, be available for sex at any given moment of the day, and I also need you to scrub out my underwear. The wife half of that relationship doesnt have much choice other than what soap they will use while washing his clothes. And this brings me to the title of my post, why Girls Camp is so important. We actually just had a meeting about Girls Camp and it seems to be coming together quite nicely. We have a tentative schedule and weve found some great women role models to work at the camp as counselors. Thank you all again for helping make this possible through your donations.
And as per request of Carlys dad: My kittens are fine in their little homes. Scrapper, renamed Polo, is living with another Peace Corps Volunteer, Milo is living with a woman who cleans my house and has a cute little boy to play with all day, and Rah is living with my neighbor.
Toe Status: My toe is doing fine, looks funny but I have a cuticle and it hasnt itched since I started taking meds, which Im done with on Monday!!!!!!
Current Book: The Poisonwood Bible