It came. It went.
It happened.
And I am still in shock
and somehow depressed that it is over.
After nine months of
planning, prepping, and organizing, National Camp GLOW was a success. I may be a tad biased as one of the three
Co-Directors but oh well, it is my blog and I get to say how I feel. Right?!
Mikael, Meish, and I had
worked out all the details regarding campers, transportation, food, sessions,
t-shirts, the manual, and we were ready to rock the week. We headed down to Kampala a week early to
spend our 24 million shillings, approximately $10,000USD, on supplies,
transport, and Red Bull in addition to meeting with Peace Corps and with Sister
Valentine, our Ugandan Co-Director, who was incredibly accommodating and
helpful throughout the whole process.
On Thursday, August 29, we
headed to the school to make posters, finalize everything with Sister, and set
up in anticipation for our counselors the following day for our Training of
Trainers. When Friday came about, we
welcomed our counselors and some of our staff to training. We covered everything from a campus tour and
Camp GLOW overview to sensitive subjects, positive discipline, roles, rules,
and session preparation. We celebrated
the end of TOT with a campfire, roasting bananas with peanut butter and
chocolate chips, also known as banana boats.
Random thought: This was
the first Camp GLOW in Uganda to have male Ugandan counselors. Previously only women were invited to the
camp to serve in the counselor role, due to sensitive subjects and
tradition. We wanted to break the
mold. We invited two males to serve in
this position and it was a huge success.
They provided a new perspective to the girls and it gave our campers the
opportunity to see strong, positive men in this role, supporting them and
encouraging a bright future for them.
Without them, I cannot say for sure that camp would have been equally as
successful.
The following day the 130
campers from all around Uganda arrived to St. Theresa Girl’s Primary
School. Our work was somehow done as the
buses rolled in, the campers registered, and games began. Sister was on top of teatime and meals,
ensuring that we were being fed and everyone was remaining happy and full.
That evening we did short
skits for the campers, which demonstrated the camp rules. We also sang our camp song and played games
while we waited for the final girls to arrive from the North.
As we cleaned the staff
room, Mikael, Meish and I simply looked at each other with a look of
gratification. We did it. The week was now primarily in the hands of
the counselors and staff. They were the
ones leading sessions, planning all camp activities, and taking the lead. Our work was behind the scenes, figuring out
details with Sister and ensuring that everyone was getting what they needed.
Our week was packed with
sessions, guest speakers, a day with the boys visiting from BUILD, flour,
water, air, and various other activities.
To give you a general sense of our camp curriculum we had four
overarching topics: life skills, healthy living, business development, and
teamwork. Each of these topics had specific
sessions under them, for example environmental friendliness, HIV/AIDS,
financial literacy, and assertiveness and decision-making. The day that BUILD visited we chose to focus
on gender equality and working together for the future of Uganda. It was this day that I got the opportunity to
lead my favorite session, gender and society, also known as gender roles. I am extremely passionate about educating the
youth of Uganda on gender roles and how society places certain emphasis on
things that men and women should be doing.
I love talking about the difference between sex and gender and that at
the end of the day, women can do anything that a man can do, other than the
biological things. I love having boys
get up in front of the class to sweep and having girls stand up and show how
smart they look in trousers or how they have everything they need to drive boda
bodas, motorcycles.
The Ambassador came and
visited us on Thursday with the boys to talk about the future of Uganda and
that those attending are the future.
They are the ones empowered with the skills, with the ability to share
the message, and the ones equipped with the tools to help educate others, and
eradicate things like gender inequality, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.
Sister Valentine was
beyond supportive in every aspect. From
the accommodations and solving problems on the spot, like bed bugs, to signing
200 certificates and serving us delicious food, like romaine lettuce salad.
Need I say more?
Friday came. The last day of camp, and I was an emotional
mess. These girls made a huge impact on
me. They broke out of their shells. They shared stories and confided in me. They become confident young leaders and women
in a matter of days and I knew that this was only the beginning of what was
going to be a GLOWing future for them all.
After the certificates got handed out at the closing ceremonies, the
girls wanted speeches, which we should have known being that they are a huge
component of Ugandan culture. As my name
was being chanted, I had to emotionally prepare myself. I started off good and then it is all
downhill from there.
My short words started off
as such, “At times being a Peace Corps Volunteer can be very discouraging and
you never know if what you are doing is making a difference. (Cue choked up voice and swelling of
eyes). Then you spend a week at camp,
with engaging and wonderful youth like you all (cue tears) and you remember why
you came to Uganda for two years.” I
know there was some more but between wiping away tears and receiving a
ginormous hug from camp, I was overcome with emotion.
The next morning as the
buses rolled into the school bright and early to pick up the campers and take
them back home, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of success.
They came. They went.
It happened.
Mission Accomplished.
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