Hey you lovely little turtledoves, I hope this finds you well and enjoying your pretty Spring. (If you are in a place that is spring-like that is. I hope you are enjoying your respective weather conditions wherever you are, all you other people!) I know I have a lot to tell you, and while I will probably never get around to half of it, right now I want to talk to you about Camp Glow. I know I know, we've already done this. But please bear with me, it's a whole new year and the stakes are a little higher because this year, it's my baby. I am one of two directrices that are in charge of getting this thing off the ground, and naturally I will be needing your help to do so.
You probably know already why a good education is important. It's obvious in America what it takes to succeed, and while the game is always changing, you don't even get to play the game if you don't have a significant education. It's the same here in Benin, but its especially difficult if you won (or lost, depending on how you see it) the genetic lottery that means you were born a girl. Aside from all the physical hardships of menstruation and birth, being a girl in Benin means you're less than a second-class citizen. It is assumed from day 1 that you are less intelligent, less strong, less capable. I know this because I have had this argument more times that I can count. "Women's brains are completely different. They don't work as well." "Women don't need an education. Women can't work, because they have babies." It is a waste of money to educate a girl, because she cannot learn.
If this makes your blood boil at all, welcome to Benin. And that's just the start. Say a girl has a supportive family who will send her to school - she then has to find the money to pay her school fees, find the time to study in between watching her siblings and washing clothes by hand and going to the well to pull water for the house and cooking dinner. She has to hope that she can make it through the day without being sexually harassed by her peers and teachers, and hope that her teacher doesn't decide to blackmail her into sleeping with him for a passing grade. (It would make you cry to know what a common thing this is.) She has to hope she doesn't become pregnant if she is accosted by her professors, because once she becomes pregnant she is kicked out of school and shamed.
And you thought doing your long division was hard.
And that's why we have Camp Glow: a week long camp in which we cheerlead these girls to believe that they are worth something, worth more than anyone has ever told them before. That they have rights, that they are protected, that they are beautiful and smart. That they have every ability to grow up to be fighter, an accountant, a healthcare worker, a mother (when they are ready), a president, healthy, a role model. I can give you stats, and numbers, about how much greater a society can become with the support of supported women, but I don't think it's necessary. I can give you all kinds of details about what we do at Camp Glow, and I will below, but I hope you don't need that to know that encouraging 50 village girls to be better is a good thing.
Click here to find out more and to donate today.
You probably know already why a good education is important. It's obvious in America what it takes to succeed, and while the game is always changing, you don't even get to play the game if you don't have a significant education. It's the same here in Benin, but its especially difficult if you won (or lost, depending on how you see it) the genetic lottery that means you were born a girl. Aside from all the physical hardships of menstruation and birth, being a girl in Benin means you're less than a second-class citizen. It is assumed from day 1 that you are less intelligent, less strong, less capable. I know this because I have had this argument more times that I can count. "Women's brains are completely different. They don't work as well." "Women don't need an education. Women can't work, because they have babies." It is a waste of money to educate a girl, because she cannot learn.
If this makes your blood boil at all, welcome to Benin. And that's just the start. Say a girl has a supportive family who will send her to school - she then has to find the money to pay her school fees, find the time to study in between watching her siblings and washing clothes by hand and going to the well to pull water for the house and cooking dinner. She has to hope that she can make it through the day without being sexually harassed by her peers and teachers, and hope that her teacher doesn't decide to blackmail her into sleeping with him for a passing grade. (It would make you cry to know what a common thing this is.) She has to hope she doesn't become pregnant if she is accosted by her professors, because once she becomes pregnant she is kicked out of school and shamed.
And you thought doing your long division was hard.
And that's why we have Camp Glow: a week long camp in which we cheerlead these girls to believe that they are worth something, worth more than anyone has ever told them before. That they have rights, that they are protected, that they are beautiful and smart. That they have every ability to grow up to be fighter, an accountant, a healthcare worker, a mother (when they are ready), a president, healthy, a role model. I can give you stats, and numbers, about how much greater a society can become with the support of supported women, but I don't think it's necessary. I can give you all kinds of details about what we do at Camp Glow, and I will below, but I hope you don't need that to know that encouraging 50 village girls to be better is a good thing.
Click here to find out more and to donate today.
Camp G.L.O.W. Parakou, 2015
What is it?
Camp G.L.O.W. (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 G.L.O.W. 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 technical school’s 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 G.L.O.W. will have never before left their village or region. 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 G.L.O.W. 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 our project name, Camp GLOW 2015, or number, 15-680-020, or the last name: Harper. 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 the camp director Camille Harper at coolhandcamille@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.
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