Girls Camps!

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted. This past month has been pretty crazy. I just got back from Guatemala, where I was in Antigua with my mom, my sister, dafna's mom Michal, and Jonathan. Let me just say Antigua is one of the coolest places I've been. Maybe I'm just saying that because I've been in El Salvador for too long, but I was so impressed with the beautiful old buildings from the 1500 and 1600s and how well perserved, clean, and friendly the town was. Not to mention the millions of little restaurants and stores. There is really no place that comes close to that here, and it was a wonderful vacation.

Before Antigua, I was busy with the two girls' camps that I put on with 13 other female Peace Corps volunteers from my group. I started planning this project back in January when things were slow and I was trying to think what I could do. I talked to a friend of mine from my town who had attended a camp with the previous volunteer here. Though almost 2.5 years had passed, she remembered every detail of the camp, including the names of the other volunteers who had participated and all the talks she had received. I decided that I really wanted to give the opportunity for more youth to attend these camps.

The group of volunteers before me had recently put on a gender-focused camp and I found out that there was money available from Peace Corps to do a camp with that theme. I invited all the interested female volunteers in my group to come to a meeting to see if there was interest. Thirteen other volunteers showed up and over the course of the next 5 months we began to put together the camp. It was a lot of fun to do a project with the other volunteers, since we haven't done this kind of thing all together since training.

When the dates of the camps finally arrived, I was nervous how everything would turn out. I say camps because we did two, one in the east and one in the west. Each volunteer would bring girls to only one camp, depending on which was closer, though all volunteers were required to attend both camps. Every volunteer was also responsible for leading a talk or activity, which included: self-esteem, creative thinking, HIV/AIDS, sexual health, gender stereotypes, body image, dance, self-defense, and jewelry making. Dividing it up like that made it so that it was not too much work for any one person.

I'm running out of time, but to sum it up the camp was a huge success. For all 5 girls that I brought, it was the first time they'd spent a night away from their families. For many, it was the first night outside their community ever. They were like sponges, the experience was so unique for them. They participated in all the activities with enthusiasm and awe. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've done in the Peace Corps.