Northern Camp GLOW

If I wasn’t already exhausted enough from a week long softball adventure I went straight into my next adventure, Northern Camp GLOW. Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)is a weeklong camp held for girls to empower them and give them skills to be able to hold their own since this country is so driven on males being in charge and being above the girls. There was also a boys camp at the same time Camp BUILD, where boys also learn various skills.

Due to budget cuts I was asked to come as a volunteer, basically meaning I just had to pay my own transport. But in the end they were able to budget and pay for my transport which was an extra bonus because I was really excited just to get to go to the camp to get ideas for the GLOW club I have at my school.  Throughout the week I acted as a staff member and helped with sessions, acted as one of the camp photographers, ran errands (which all the staff members were fighting over due to the fact that running errands meant going into town which meant access to food other than rice and beans) and did whatever else was needed.

The campers were made up of girls from all over northern Uganda and were ages of 14-18. The campers had to be nominated by a PCV and write an essay. Noone was left out of the camp, there was even a number of hearing impared campers and translators brought in. They were able to participate in every activity and were welcomed by the other campers, by the end of the week notes were being passed back and forth asking them to tell them how to sign something.

Throughout the week there were various sessions on IGA’s (income generating activities), Reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, Self Esteem. During the IGA sessions the girls learned various ways inwhih they can make money for themselves and why it is important to have their own income. They learned how to make small change purses, build sack gardens and liquid fertilizer. They also learned money management through a game based off the Game of Life. The Game of Life showed them how they have to manage money for every situation and save because you never know when something is going to happen such as “you dropped your phone down a latrine pay 45,000/=” and Aubrey, another PCV from my group and one of the camp directors, demonstrated how things like this can happen by dropping her phone down the latrine during the camp. (One of my favorites which did not end up in the game was “your latrine fell over with your grandma inside collect 75,000/=”)

Reproductive health session the girls learned the proper way to put on a condom. Let me tell you put 50 girls in a room with 7 wooden penis’s and a bunch of condoms and there are sure to be giggles. I was taking pictures during this session and every time I took someone’s picture while they were putting a condom on a wooden penis others would laugh at them so those who laughed were next in line to for a photo op. The girls were also given Afripads which are reusable menstrual pads that can be washed and reused to cut down on girls missing school due to having their period and having to just use an old towel or piece of clothing because they cannot afford to buy pads.

The girls, counselors and staff were also able to get tested for HIV/AIDS. This was the first camp run by PCV’s where they had this aspect. It went over really well and most were tested. There were no new HIV findings and one girl who thought she had it ended up not having HIV.

We met up with the boys camp twice during the camp once was a field day/registration on the first day and the other was a domestic violence themed day. The campers learned what domestic violence is and how to prevent it and how to treat others. From what I heard this went over much better than past camps as in the past the boys would take it as a joke.

We also went to a ropes course which was a blast. I was lucky enough to run one of the stations, the train tracks, where the girls had to figure out how to get the pieces of wood over to the oth3er side without their feet touching the ground. It was difficult to get the counselors to not tell them how to do it since they were involved in all the other activities. The course focused mainly on team building and with some personal facing of fears thrown in as well. There was a leap of faith which they were hooked up to harnesses and had to climb a long 60ft or so in the air and then jump out to a bar that was swinging in the air as well as a zipline. I was able to do the zipline but there was not enough time for us staff members to do the leap of faith.

Over all it was a fun, exciting and EXAHUSTING week.