Camp GLOW 2013!

17 August 2013

Last week I directed South Oromia’s Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) which was attended by 12 Peace Corps volunteers, 9 Ethiopian counterparts and 21 8-9^th grade female students. We selected only females of these grades because they will all be high school students next year. High school is a difficult time for girls in Ethiopia as their studies become more demanding so do their responsibilities with house chores and pressures for them to get married and drop out of school also increase.  Our main focus for this week of camp was self-confidence, good communication, HIV/AIDs and safe sex awareness, team work, strength, goal setting and creative writing. Here are some pictures from the week.

Discussing how the girls define "self-esteem"

Two of our amazing counselors who joined us at camp

Peer pressure skit

Self-esteem collages

We made it to the top of the mountain!

The whole camp before our hike

Highlights included a hike up Mt. Gelama, an enormous obstacle course, a professional women panel discussion, hilarious condom demonstration (included interactive song and dance), HIV + music band who came and performed songs and skits. On our final day we held a giant bonfire where we had the campers throw in their “I can’t” lists they had made earlier in the week, the act of incineration would symbolize  that over the camp they had gained skills and self-confidence so that all they had listed the first day as things they felt were their weaknesses had since been invalidated; the fire would devour their doubts in themselves, leaving them only with an “I CAN” attitude. I noticed one girl didn’t throw her “I Can’t” envelope in the fire and I asked her to do so, but she refused. I figured she was still holding on to doubts and negativity so I started in on a big speech about how amazing she is and that she needs to cast her self-doubts away. She replied “No, that’s not it at all” and she read her note inside the envelope which said ‘I can do anything I set myself to’. Apparently, some of the girls at camp didn’t need the self confidence boost as much as others.

It was an amazing week of fun and learning for EVERYONE, even the adult counselors who were teaching. I learned many new dance moves, gained several fantastic friends, got my first cornrow braids and only got thrown-up on once during the week. What a success! 

I look terrible terrible in braids but they feel so awesome.