Camp GLOW

            Okay so August, again another whirlwind of a month that I honestly have to sit down and look at a calendar to remember exactly what it was that I did. To begin with August was the mark of my first full year at site! Being a year at site and over a year in Kenya, it makes one feel seasoned but also like there is still so much left to do and learn. Especially when things in all aspects of your life are finally starting to move at a pace that is almost too hard to keep up with. I was once again in Nairobi for mid service medical, getting a checkup and a dental exam (no cavities mom!) and for meetings. I was accepted to the DPS Committee (Diversity and Peer Support), which is a group who is available for other volunteers to utilize when they are in need of some advice or just a vent session with someone who probably has been in a similar situation. Don’t we look lovely! 

DPS Committee!

            I also participated in the Elewana Education Project camp during this term break, which was prepping students for their big exam in November. Here the KCSE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) is probably one of the most important tests that someone will ever take. After working here for a bit, I then got the opportunity to be a counselor at Camp GLOW, or Girl’s Leading Our World.

            The camp was one where volunteers brought with them counterparts and students to a campus outside of Kisumu and for one week. Here we taught on topics ranging from reproductive health, decision-making, goal setting, career choices, and a variety of other life skills. The camp is not only academic, but included games, talent shows, field trips and of course dance parties. Camp GLOW in Kenya is unique, because we have a deaf education program and one third of the girls at camp are deaf. This aspect creates a rare environment for the girls to learn about the deaf culture within their own country, as well as for us as volunteers in different sectors to be able to have that experience as well.

Just teaching on reproduction and menstruation!

Fellow volunteer Kyle, and I with camper Maureen! She loved taking pictures and was surprising good at it with my iPhone! =)

Camp was split into three groups, these were my girls, the Star Squad! 

Star Squad ladies only! 

 Field trip to the Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu, included up close and personal Zebras!

            Though the camp is designed to teach the girls, and empower them to be leaders in their communities, they are not the only ones who are enriched and learn from this experience. Being able to participate in Camp GLOW was one of the best weeks I have had here in Kenya. The girls come from all over the country, brought from villages where volunteers live, where they may only know one other girl, or just the volunteer. However by the end of the week, they are all laughing and joking, dancing together, sharing stories and learning from each other. Being a part of that and witnessing it was inspiring. It shows us that the youth can become united and will do so to create a better world.

“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” ~Diane Mariechild