Things Have Been GLOWing Well: Part 1

Well the whistle’s been blown. 

Camp season 2013 has officially begun in Uganda. 

I spent the first week and a half of May up in Northern Uganda, specifically in Gulu, as a camp counselor for GLOW, Girl’s Leading Our World.  As I stepped off the Post Bus, I was instantly welcomed into this quaint, muzungu friendly town.  As I turned to head to the supermarket to stock up on fruit and water, I heard my name being called. 

Now mind you, I have never been to Gulu before. 

Who was it you ask?  Prossy, one of my campers from National GLOW in December.  After a hug that seemed to last a lifetime and some very happy tears, she continued to explain that she has been sharing what she learned at camp to others and that camp made her a better person.

Mission accomplished.

Fast forward to arriving at the school.  We spent two days in training and working with an incredible woman named Ife, who works in youth development and creative facilitation skills.  She helped us with icebreakers, how to gain trust with the campers, and gave us insight to our own selves.  It was very enlightening. 

I then discovered that I would be a counselor to the monkey group, which in turn lead to the 80 girls, 20 counselors, and 20 staff members to refer to me as none other than “Mama Monkey.”  I was responsible, along with my Ugandan Co-Counselor Anna, for the eight girls that made up our monkey family.  My experience as a counselor at this camp was a little different in that two of my campers were completely deaf and one was hard hearing.  I thought I was in for a crazy week but soon came to realize that these girls were so independent and inspirational.  They were patient with me as I communicated with awkward hand gestures, dance moves, and some sign language I picked up along the way.

The week started off with fun and games with the boys from BUILD and this energy lasted throughout the week.  We spent the first day learning about each other in addition to a basic how-to on sack gardening and meeting women who had started their own local business.  The week continued on with sessions on safe sex, HIV/AIDS, malaria prevention, and tae-kwon do.  The week wrapped up with a day spent with the boys focusing on gender roles and BUILDing GLOWing relationships.

The highlight of the week for me had to be the day focused on teamwork, which we spent at a ropes course.  This course could have been picked up right out of Shady Creek, where I spent many diversity and RA trainings.  Surrounded by trees the course included a zip line, rock climbing wall, leap of faith, the spider web activity, and much more.  The campers quickly learned how to trust, communicate, and have faith in one another.  Unfortunately I woke up this day with a terrible cough, a nose that was stuffed with who knows what, and a nasty stomach bug, which led to me crouched over the pit latrine.  This did not stop me from going to the ropes course to see my girls break out of their shells and into their smiles… And to get harnessed into the zip line to show my girls that anything is possible.

Side note.  Something that Peace Corps is very big on is monitoring and evaluation.  They want to know whether what we are doing has a lasting impact on the participants and their respective communities.  In order to prepare the campers to return to their villages we had each group prepare a small drama, song, or poem on a topic that was addressed at camp. 

The monkeys got safe sex and chose to perform a drama.  Part of the drama included a proper condom demonstration with a dildo, also known as a wooden penis model.  The best part was that one of my deaf campers decided to be the one to demonstrate.  She signed the whole thing and her facial expressions were priceless.  I can’t wait until she shares this knowledge with others.  She has it down.

Every night we reflected on the day by sitting under the setting African sun with a mosquito repellant candle.  We shared our breakthroughs, our challenges, our strengths and weaknesses.  We talked about the future and how we are it.  We laughed, got hyped up on pixie sticks (thanks Mrs. Parker!), and eventually made lifelong friendships. 

The week ended with a rice sack fashion show, where the girls were able to take what once were plain white rice sacks and transform them into dresses filled with pictures and words that resembled themselves.  It was a great opportunity to allow the creative minds flow… Something that is not quite encouraged in the schools.

After the oh so anticipated closing ceremony, where the campers received their certificates, and one of my deaf girls gave a speech in sign language showing her appreciation for the camp and everyone involved, we danced the night away. 

I left Gulu empowered and very appreciative for the opportunity given to me.  The girls and boys in attendance forever changed me and gave me insight to what it means to live a happy life… Smile, be yourself, and take each day as a new opportunity.