Hey everyone. I had a busy first two weeks in February taking youth from my community to share in one of my favorite things in the world: summer camp. The first week was a Gender and Development (GAD) camp with a health and wellness theme, followed by Girls Leading Our World (GLOW). I had a wonderful time and my youth really enjoyed the experience as well.
GAD had both girls and boys participating and it was a smaller camp- 14 participants. This is the first year that Paraguay has done a Gender and Development camp and although the enrollment numbers were not as high as the goal, the camp went phenomenally. The participants learned about health as it pertains to our bodies and our minds with presentations on exercise (yoga, zumba, self defense), mental health, discrimination, self esteem, gender stereotypes and equality, gender based violence, gender in the media, nutrition, and teamwork. The kids were all really engaged and because of the small size became a really tight knit group. One of my favorite moments was during an ally training one of the girls said "And I'm not a feminist or anything..." which lead to a discussion about what feminism means. We defined feminism as the belief than men and women should have equal personal, economic, cultural, political, and social rights. The participants responded overwhelming with lots of "OHHH I'm a feminist then!" from both the boys and the girls. We also played and danced whenever there was a spare moment and I felt really lucky to be involved in such a special experience. We even made it into the newspaper!
GAD had both girls and boys participating and it was a smaller camp- 14 participants. This is the first year that Paraguay has done a Gender and Development camp and although the enrollment numbers were not as high as the goal, the camp went phenomenally. The participants learned about health as it pertains to our bodies and our minds with presentations on exercise (yoga, zumba, self defense), mental health, discrimination, self esteem, gender stereotypes and equality, gender based violence, gender in the media, nutrition, and teamwork. The kids were all really engaged and because of the small size became a really tight knit group. One of my favorite moments was during an ally training one of the girls said "And I'm not a feminist or anything..." which lead to a discussion about what feminism means. We defined feminism as the belief than men and women should have equal personal, economic, cultural, political, and social rights. The participants responded overwhelming with lots of "OHHH I'm a feminist then!" from both the boys and the girls. We also played and danced whenever there was a spare moment and I felt really lucky to be involved in such a special experience. We even made it into the newspaper!
Sneaking in a game of volley before a storm
My participants
Learning a hand clapping game
GLOW was a much bigger camp, with 47 female participants. It was awesome to have a girls only space to talk about some difficult topics. The girls learned about leadership, healthy relationships, values, gender based violence, equality, sex ed, yoga, self esteem, and heard from a panel of successful Paraguayan women. We even had a "Period Party," complete with red nail polish, red decorations, and "pad races" where we celebrated all aspects of our femininity, even the parts that make us uncomfortable sometimes. The girls worked hard all week and made new friends from all over Paraguay. They also received a manual of all of the weeks activities to take back to their communities. My participant is already talking about helping me run few programs her high school.
Our masterpiece, each leaf representing a value that a girl found most important
Everyone gathered in the main room
The girls on our last day in their "Por Ser Niña" shirts donated by Plan Paraguay, our community partner
The past two weeks have enforced what I've known since I went to Gwynn Valley and Akita as a camper and later a counselor at Akita-- Summer camp is good for the body, mind and spirit. There's no feeling quite like dancing to your own beat along side friends that are doing the same.
