Wash Your Hair Challenge
- Liora McElvaney
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Wash your hair more than once a week to once every ten days challenge. level impossible. but hi? sorry? No, it’s way too hard here to collect water (there is a scarcity in my village), wash my hair, and rinse it out. Even though I use this amazing 5-in-1 Irish Spring soap, it’s not easy! So that’s what I do, or don’t do (wash it). UNLESS! I’m visiting one of my mama besties because she’s a hairdresser and she washes and dries my hair for the equivalent of 80¢. Lol, writing it out like that makes me feel especially dirty and makes me think maybe I could wash it more than just when I go to the city.
Speaking of water and WASH, March 22nd was World Water Day! The UN’s theme this year was glacial preservation, and while I’m in no way near a glacier or the coast, I still find importance and legitimacy in this theme. Since our grant funding is still paused, I decided to do a small hands-on activity with my community instead to commemorate the day.
Mothers, pregnant women, and visitors arrived at the Zahanati to be examined, weigh their children, or for my event! Having brought their own chupas, or bottles, or finding some littered around, they were given tools to create their own bottle of soap. Simple and easy, I grated the bars of soap and then added them to the chupa along with clean water. After poking a hole in the lid, I screwed them back on. Before they left, I gave education surrounding why clean and safe water is important and what best practices are, such as washing your hands before and after you eat, after using the choo, after leaving the farm, and more - with soap! Additionally, to reduce malaria, it is best practice to cover buckets of water. Lastly, if able, people should boil their drinking water before consuming it. Everyone loved it and I think I'm going to make it a monthly thing in the village!
Yesterday, I spent time with my Bwana Shamba (Agriculture Officer), and we visited a plot of land that was purchased by an outside organization to empower young women to improve their farming and nutrition practices. We turned over the new compost pile, and I think it's a spot I'll try to go to every week now that I know it's there! There were sweet potatoes, and ni
Oh, also, a few days ago I fell off my bike, and today I'm going to Dar es Salaam for my first Service Improvement Committee meeting! We'll have meetings once every quarter, so I'll get to go on the train more! My goals this weekend are to 1. go to Starbucks 2. go to the brewery and 3. go to the Zara.
I'm back from Dar (what a week!) and I DID go to Zara and get pants (to match Fran) and I DID go to the brewery, but I did not get Starbucks. My knee has mostly healed from my bike fall! Tomorrow is Earth Day! Yippee! I'll have to do another update soon on what else my life has been like. One day I'll be a better blogger, but that day is not today! Oh, and I haven't washed my hair in a week obviously.
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