What is it?
Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a week long camp for
exceptional girls, selected by Peace Corps Volunteers, to come together and
learn how to be leaders among their peers and receive education about important
health and social issues affecting their communities. Camp GLOW is a Peace Corps initiative that started in
Romania in 1995 with the purpose of promoting female empowerment. The program came to Benin in 2004 and has
been widely successful; current volunteers are encouraging and educating
promising young females all across the country.
What do we do?
Throughout the week, girls will live on a university campus
and attend sessions that target vital public health concerns, emphasize the value
of education, focus on developing life skills, and encourage creativity and
critical thinking. Topics include:
finding safe drinking water, sexual health, study skills, career planning,
leadership, entrepreneurship, creative writing, and domestic violence. At the end of the week, girls will collaborate
with their volunteer to discuss the ways they can bring what they have learned
at camp back to their villages.
Why do we do it?
Most of the girls who attend Camp GLOW will have never
before stepped foot on a university campus. They will have their first experiences with touching a
keyboard, picking up a paintbrush, and being told that it’s not OK for a
husband to hit his wife. The girls
will be mentored by adult Beninese women who have been selected for the
exceptional example they set as professional, progressive women as well as
older girls (junior mentors) selected from last year’s camp as outstanding
participants. Most importantly,
the girls will be surrounded by positive encouragement. They will not be hit, they will not be
constantly sent out for chores, and they will be reminded that they are special
and valuable.
How can you help?
Camp GLOW is financed through the Peace Corps Partnership
Program (PCPP). The project is
posted online where friends and family of participating volunteers can come
together to collectively finance the demand. Please follow this link: www.peacecorps.gov/donate and
search by our project number: 13-680-015 or my last name: Hembre.
You can read project details and contribute with your credit card
directly through the site. If you
have any additional questions concerning the budget or activities of the camp,
please feel free to contact me (lisa.hembre@gmail.com). If you are interested in sending
supplies that we would like to use, but do not have access to in Benin, please
contact me as well.
Check out some of last year's pictures:
No comments:
Post a Comment