That is probably the question most parents try to avoid at all costs, and kids, once that question materializes in their heads, do not rest until they get an answer. Some of the answers involve flowers and bees, others involve a stork, and of course, we all have heard “Ask your mother.”

When I was in primary school, I had a weekly class called “I am a woman” –I went to an all-girls school. This class was about women’s reproductive system, the process of pregnancy, what happens during menstruation, and where babies come from. In second grade, I had my first class about reproduction, and the image that comes to my mind when I think about that class is a cartoon of two machines –a male and a female machine. The male machine was a mechanical device, like a large compressor, with levers, gears and belts; the female machine was an electrical device with bulbs, switches, fuses and a small screen on the front showing a big red heart. Both machines were connected by what seemed like a vacuum hose, going from the center of the male machine to the center of the female machine, below her heart. Using this analogy of the machines as humans, my teacher explained about the seed and the sperm (or “male liquid”), and how the “male liquid” travels to the female’s egg, and together created a baby.

The image was simple, and even though it did not involve humans; it was not confusing because the teacher’s explanation was thorough. She also made clear that it was just an analogy.

I am very fond of my memory of the “love machines;” however, I do not have a particularly interesting memory of how I learned about HIV/AIDS. When I started working for Transdiaspora Network, to get more connected to its cause and to relate to the teenagers in our programs, I tried to remember my experience in learning about HIV/AIDS, and I noticed that no one ever taught me what it was about. I learned about HIV/AIDS mostly from news, TV, articles, and even from myths

and beliefs such as “Don’t drink from there, you can get HIV.”

I want to share this story with you because I feel it’s a good example of how creativity and learning can work together successfully. That is what Transdiaspora Network (TDN) does: it proposes an innovative approach to talk about HIV prevention through storytelling, dance and photography, and I’m very happy to be a part of it.

Share your story with us. How did you learn where babies come from? Contact us.