In our second field visit to Masaka we were told we would have the chance to interview more champions but first we were going to be speaking to a former Champion, who had to stop selling due to old age and was sick. So in the back of my mind I was picturing an old, quiet, and sick woman, not to be stereotypical. But instead we pulled up to the house and before a figure even immerged you could hear a hoop and hollering, almost like a tribal call. Then an old woman no taller than five feet came behind the house waving and hollering in excitement as the van arrived. This is not what I had pictured as an old sick woman. No instead it was someone special, and her name was Speciouza.
Her energy filled the room, her humor carried the conversation (jokes were delayed due to translation,) and her smile could brighten anyone’s day in an instant.
Speciouza had been a Champion for a few years until her health worsened and she was no longer able to sell. But she was one of the first Champions in Masaka. Even though she is no longer selling she is still very connected to the BanaPads community and still helps with menstruation education and involvement when her health allows her. Since she was a former Champion our interviewed differed, so at the end of the interview when we were wrapping up, Gogo asked one last question. That one simple question has been memorable for weeks following. He asked, “any advice on how to live a good life?” It was clear from her energy that she was happy and had lived a fulfilling life in her previous years. She responded with a list of 5 ways to live a good life:
Be disciplined
Be a good listener
Be humble
Say sorry
Do not ever underestimate anyone, no matter how small they are. See yourself on their level.
If that is not good advice to live by, then I don’t know what is. Her name truly says it all about the greeting, the interview, and the advice. It was all “speciouza!”