Elaine's Travel Diaries: Camp GLOW was a GO!

“When you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”

I just spent 10 days with a group of 78 teenage girls with raging hormones. These are girls who like to wake up at 4 AM screaming and singing at the top of their lungs; clog our toilets and flood our floors with water; walk around their dorms stark naked; start their mornings with gospel songs and dances; and end their nights with laughter and conversations that could be heard from miles and miles away.

And I loved it.

The girls on stage singing and dancing in the morning

Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) was a huge success. For those of you who contributed to the camp – WE THANK YOU WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS. We are truly grateful for all your support and wish you could have seen just how much you have helped to change these girls’ lives.

Though I was a bit stressed with planning all the recreational activities, competitions, prizes, AND being a counselor, my favorite part was just hanging out with the girls. I have to admit that I wasn’t too excited at the thought of being with teenage girls, but they had exceeded above and beyond my expectations of them and for them.

We invited 80 girls from all over Malawi who had great potential for their futures. The camp was preceded by two days of training for the counselors, followed by six days with the campers. Each day consisted of smaller sessions, assemblies/speakers, recreational activities, and competitions revolving around the theme of the day – Women in Malawi, Environment, Health, Self-Esteem, Career, and Future. We had special visitors from Opportunity Bank, USAID, Peace Corps, and the U.S. Embassy. They learned about things, from gender roles to vertical gardens to journalism. But the most important thing was that they walked out of the camp with more confidence and dreams of becoming Malawi’s future leaders.

One of my girls drew a picture of her future goal - to become a nurse

I don’t know how else to describe the success of the camp except through my perspective, so I guess I’ll talk a bit about what I’ve learned and experienced. I had nine girls in my group: some were quiet and shy, a few loud, a few strong, etc. One of the highlights was pillow talk- a time allotted before bed for girls to ask us questions and discuss their choice of topic. It became apparent that these girls are smart and brilliant. They were asking me questions I had no idea the answer to: “Why do STIs cause esotopic pregnancies?”, “Can a 3-year-old boy transmit HIV to a 3-year-old girl?”, “Why does gonorrhea cause blindness in babies?”, etc. Uhhh, yeah… I’ll get back to you on that.

And then we started talking about their initiation ceremonies. A few girls who had participated explained how the ceremonies influence girls to get married at a young age by talking of things that are meant for adults and things that are not ever spoken in public. I’ll spare you all the details. But I encouraged the girls to think about how girls can maintain this important rite of passage into womanhood without encouraging early marriage. We then started discussing about the impact of HIV/AIDS from initiation ceremonies.

The other highlight was the night activities. We had a cultural showcase (broken up by tribe), quiz bowls, poster contests, cake-decorating competitions, an indoor relay race, talent show, and a disco dance. I tell you – these girls LOVE to sing and dance! It was so much fun watching these girls become like little kids!

My group of girls - the Canadians!

(Don't ask me about the name - I have no idea how they came up with that)

The best highlight was to personally watch the camp transform their lives, especially for a special girl in my group. Here was a girl who displayed so much potential, maturity, intelligence, diligence, and respect. She was one of those girls you’d see in class raising her hands, answering questions in her almost perfect English, diligently paying attention, interacting with all the girls, and well-mannered in every sense. The last day of camp, she sat down with me and started telling me her life story – one that touched me and inspired me. Orphaned by both parents at a young age for an unknown reason, she lived with her older sister, who also had a family of her own to care for. Unable to support her school fees, she had to turn to other financial sources. Since she didn’t know her father’s family at all, she tracked down her relatives and sought assistance. They provided the finances for a short while before they stopped supporting her. She then turned to her mother’s sister for assistance. With seven children of her own, it wasn’t long before she had to stop financially supporting her. In the end, she turned to the director of the Ministry of Education who agreed to assist with her school fees. After explaining her challenges to me, she told me that Camp GLOW had changed her life and has really encouraged her that she really can do anything she wants and be anyone she wants. In her parting letter to me, she wrote, “I will never forget you, because you have really changed a lot of things and I will never be like those girls who always let themselves down.”

Another girl in my group also wrote, “I tell you, ‘I can do anything’, it’s a lot like a song, but really from now [on], ‘I CAN DO ANYTHING!’”

At the end of it all, I sat there thinking, “Wow, these girls are so amazing.” I’ve always taken gender equality for granted, but these girls have had to face so many challenges and obstacles – from their parents’ lack of encouragement or lack of parents to the pressure to bring some source of money into the family whether by farming or working for “sugar daddies” – yet they’ve persevered in spite of them. I can only hope that Camp GLOW has encouraged them and empowered them just a bit more so that they won’t give up on becoming the generation who will fulfill the purpose of “gender equality” and make Malawi a better place for girls. These are the Girls who will Lead Our World.

Once again, thank you! Even though you are halfway around the world, YOU have also made an impact on Camp GLOW and the girls at this camp. Thank you for supporting girls’ education in the U.S.; for creating gender equality in the classroom and workplace; for defending women’s rights when no one else believed in it; for encouraging them to fulfill their dreams and aspirations; for telling our sisters, daughters, and friends that “Girls can do anything”!

Power to the Girls,
Elaine

P.S. My work with gender will not stop here. I’m part of the Gender and Development committee for Peace Corps Malawi, working on ways to promote awareness about gender equality and gender development.

P.P.S. I apologize if my thoughts seem scattered. I had insufficient and inadequate sleep for the last 10 days. But feel free to ask me more questions about anything!