Three weeks ago I got the
opportunity to be a counselor at one of the coolest Peace Corps Camps I have
been involved in to date.
Welcome to Camp LION: Leaders
In Our Nation.
Camp LION brought together
both female and male youth from the Eastern region of Uganda for a week of empowerment,
leadership, and volunteerism, in addition to sessions on HIV, business skills, gender,
and healthy behaviors.
My Turaco flock of campers
was awesome in numerous ways… Not only did they demonstrate the five core
values of a leader: responsibility, teamwork, integrity, humility, and
self-discipline, they also recognized these behaviors in others. They were actively participating in sessions,
open to new ideas, and supportive of one another.
The first morning was a
little rough. In the span of 2-hours one
of our campers had to be moved to a new group in order for gender balance and
we received two new male campers. I felt
like we were playing musical chairs, which resulted in countless hours of name
games. In the end it totally worked.
The Turaco flock was ready
to spread its wings.
As we moved from session
to session, we expanded our knowledge and our ability as young leaders. I saw an open heart from each of my campers,
which enabled them to feel empowered and able of change. We rotated between lessons on HIV/AIDS and
reproductive health to agribusiness and public speaking. The topics focused on leadership and how to
use these skills to become a positive change agent in ones community.
Each evening, the
fantastic In Movement facilitators I get to work with organized various
activities. From flag decoration to late
night art, where Jim proposed to Julia.
I had never been part of a proposal and to witness true love take place
was such an incredible experience. The
proposal wasn’t anything super fancy but it was so raw and full of true love that
my future husband has some work to do.
Soon to be Mr. + Mrs. Tanton!
Team In Movement at Camp LION!
Halfway through the week
the youth went out and volunteered in the greater Mbale community. Some went to the government referral hospital
to paint a mural and share their new knowledge with the patients, some cleaned
the streets and planted trees, others went to a baby’s home to visit with the
children, and some went to a children’s home to play, sing, read, and spend
time with those without families. The
youth in my group ended up going to all four sites, which allowed for a great
reflection.
One of my favorite comments that night came from one of my boy campers who had cleaned streets and planted trees.
Me: “Musa. You picked street cleaning and tree planting
as your number one choice. Why? Wasn’t it dirty?”
Musa: “They gave us
gloves! Plus I come from Mbale and
wanted to see my community clean. The
best part was the tree planting though because in 20 years I can walk by with
my family and say, ‘That is my tree!’”
Camp LION was my sixth
Peace Corps camp and I felt like it was the first one that I was able to get my
group of youth to reach a transformative moment. I definitely contribute this to my work at In
Movement and the Art of Facilitation workshop I attended.
Remember: Ready? Set.
Facilitate!
I felt that during my time
at camp I was able to successfully track the progress of my group, help
initiate powerful reflections that led the group to their own realizations and
changes and leaders.
It was a transformative
experience for all.
The previously mentioned
five core values of a leader were exemplified by all and represented by the
distribution of special beads. Each
value was assigned a color and beads were handed out to those who demonstrated
one of those qualities of a leader.
Little did we know that at the end of camp the group with the most beads
would be awarded the Camp LION Cup.
Who won?
The Turacos.
#proudmamabird
On the evening of our last
reflection I was very emotional. I had
seen my Turacos hatch and the leader inside of them grow. I had seen myself grow.
Now it was time to leave the nest.
See more pictures at: Camp Season!
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