“I had no idea that things like papaya were actually good for me.” The comment from Mama Dina, one of my favorite “Plant of the Week” class participants, remains my favorite feedback on the classes.
For the last month, we have focused on a different plant each week and had a short lesson on the plant, its nutritional value, medicinal value, and how to cultivate it here in Manjacaze.
My first class, papaya, was only four people. Though I was disappointed, I was excited to have people show up at all (it was a rainy day, which often means anything that was set to happen is expected to be canceled). We had a great time talking about the nutrients in papaya and you can use it on wounds, for diarrhea, and how you can use the roots to treat bad coughs.
After the session, Mama Dina suggested that I should repeat the class the next week, since so many people had not come. I asked if she thought more people would come the next week, and she said she would make sure they did.
At church that Sunday, Dina announced that everyone should come to my classes because they could really learn something. I was so flattered. It’s often hard for the women at the church to take me seriously. At 24 years old, I am still not married and have no children. What can I teach them? Mama Dina's comments got me excited for that week's session.
When Thursday came around, I made a couple of big posters and hung them on the poles in the church (the church is under construction and has no walls). By 12:30, fifteen participants had congregated, and we started our lesson. I started off with a general nutrition lesson. We talked about food groups and why it is important to try to eat a variety of foods each day. I gave each person a drawing of a food and asked them to put it in the right food group. We then had a great discussion about why foods like fish and eggs were not base foods (carbohydrates) but that they were high in protein which was very good for the immune system, etc. People took notes! I couldn't believe it. Everyone thought what I was saying was important enough to write down.
After the first part of the lesson, we returned to the papaya session. I let Mama Dina and Mama Melita help me teach it, as they had both been present the week prior. It was so fun to see them talk about the things we talked about the week before.
We had a great discussion about papaya, about why vitamin A is important for children and about why women are vulnerable to iron deficiency.
After the session, Mama Lusida, who had been translating to changana for me, asked if she could have a copy of my notes, as she had been too busy translating to write anything down. I told the class that the posters would be hung up in the office and they should come by anytime to look at them and we could talk about the plants again. Everyone thanked me and promised to show up the next week.
For the next week, I wanted to have a couple of prizes. I asked Gerhard for some coconut plants to give out to people who answered questions right. We started the class off brainstorming different plates that included each of the food groups from the week prior. Anyone who answered questions right during this review got a coconut. When we then talked about how valuable coconuts were, Francisco raised his hand and asked why everyone didn’t get a plant. I explained it was a prize for people who had studied. He promised to study for the next week.
I hope to continue the classes, but I am also looking to do them with a few different audiences. I am working on a few sessions for the hospital and am going to spend a week with a primary school nearby. I also think I am going to do a few sessions in the market. Mama Dina thinks this will work well, since people are already there to buy things, I should convince them to buy things they take fore-granted. I just like the idea of talking about food right in the market. Its like nutrition information on packages, Mozambican style.
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