Camp GLOW 2010, Part 1

GLOW - Part I

With less than two months from the proposed camp date we had yet to decide if it would actually happen. The volunteers who ran the camp last year were dropping like flies, for various reasons, and the volunteers from my group scrambled to organize logistics, raise lots of money, and get all our ducks, dollars and details in a row for GLOW. And we did it. I worked along with Christen, our talented and confident fundraising coordinator, and a couple other ladies, to successfully raise nearly $6,500 from local businesses, individuals from the area and even some from the states. To everyone, Thank you!

Club GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a Peace Corps initiative that takes place all over the world. Camp GLOW is an annual event where girls ages 10-14 are able to apply to go to camp for free. This year we successfully pulled off the third annual Camp GLOW in Belize thanks to the hard work and perseverance of many volunteers and thanks to the many donors who made this financially possible. In total, 28 girls traveled from all over Belize, some leaving their homes for the first time, to congregate in Camalote village at the facility we used for camp. I was one of the first to arrive on Tuesday morning, early enough to set up tables and chairs, organize the groceries, art supplies, sports equipment and other various materials. Within an hour of being at the site, my first cup of coffee was made, and I continued to refill mugs of coffee throughout the week. It turns out that playing camp counselor can be a little exhausting. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Tuesday afternoon the campers started arriving. First were the Mayan girls from Toledo district. Having not yet traveled into the southern villages I found myself fascinated to learn about their culture and to eavesdrop on their Mayan chitchat, as they spoke their native tongue of Kek'chi. During the week they tried to teach me some phrases such as "Goodnight" and "Thank you", but their words failed to stick. (For now, I've got Buenas Noches and Gracias perfected.) Next came the one Creole girl from Belize City who turned out to be quite a character worth remembering. Our last campers to arrive were from the northern regions of Orange Walk and Corozal. We had a beautiful array of diversity amongst us with Creole, Mestizo, and Mayan cultures represented and of course, all of us Gringas. We fed them lunch, which was catered thanks to my genius idea that no, I didn't want to cook 3 meals a day for 30-40 people. On top of being a fundraising assistant and logistics coordinator I also took on the task of coordinating food. Breakfast and snacks were easily tackled by myself and helpers throughout the week. For lunch and dinner however, I happily worked with a caterer who did not fail to impress us.

After the girls had eaten, been given the camp rules and got their room assignments, we all reassembled for the first session: Communication and Trust which I led along with my friend and fellow volunteer Lilly. We talked about different types of communication, why communication skills are important, how to turn negative communication into more positive (and perhaps, "I feel"...) statements. We played charades with body language and then had them converse, using various prompts, with their fellow campers and new friends. From there we linked the topic of communication to the topic of trust, stating that in order to have the latter we must utilize the former. Through communication we build relationships and for some relationships we need to foster a spirit of trust. Lilly led the girls in active exercises that relate to trust issues. The girls seemed to have a great time.

Other sessions I led were, on Wednesday, a scavenger hunt which related to the topic of self-reliance and resourcefulness, and on Friday, a three legged race which was new to many. This was a great time for the girls to run around, work as a team, be creative in finding each item on the list for the hunt, and get some of that energy out of their systems. They really enjoyed watching their counselors in the three legged race too. Christen and I hopped and skipped and won the race over our fellow volunteers/camp counselors, laughing the whole time. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Its fun to play like a kid sometimes.

Each evening, we had either arts or sports followed by some type of group activity. Tuesday night we had a door decorating contest where they made posters for their room doors. We all walked around admiring the posters and applauding the girls in their artistic creations before preparing for bed. This part of the night was always a challenge - trying getting the girls to quiet down, turn the lights out and rest. For lack of space, I slept in the hammock outside the counselors room which was covered in an enclosed patio space. Either that hammock was the most comfortable I'd ever slept in or else camp was exhausting enough that I slept like a baby. The first night, a rain storm came in the middle of the night, pounding on the zinc roof, sounding like a great hurricane was passing through. This woke me up of course but was pretty cool to listen to. I love a good storm. 

Wednesday night we had a campfire planned but the passing rain forced us to improvise. Instead we went indoors to a nice common room, lit some kerosene lanterns and had the girls, one at a time, roast their marshmallow over the gas flame from the oven. Not the best first introduction to smores but they loved it anyhow! A few counselors led the girls in some great campfire songs as well.

Thursday was a full day of kitchen time for me with homemade pizzas on the menu for dinner and then movie night with stovetop popcorn in the evening. Without a rolling pin to roll out the huge mound of dough I'd kneaded together (10 cups of flour!) I decided to try using an oatmeal container, after wrapping it in saran wrap, and utilizing the weight of it from the oats inside. This worked surprisingly well until the lid popped off and oats spewed across the kitchen, on the counter, floors and just a little on the dough. I could do nothing but laugh. After rolling out three pizza crusts, my arms were done and I called in the trusty assistance of Amy, who has become a skilled tortilla maker from living in her Mayan village. The pizza turned out delicious but surprisingly, some of the girls were not as thrilled as we were by this American favorite.

Friday came early and I awoke absolutely exhausted. Having had very little sleep after three nights in a hammock, I stumbled to the kitchen and went through the routine of making coffee for myself and a breakfast of eggs, veggies and toast for the campers. In the meantime, the other counselors either led a brief morning yoga session for the girls or helped me in waking up and making food. Our sessions for the last full day of camp GLOW were on the topic of "Looking to the Future". The girls got to listen to a panel of female high school or university students talk about their life accomplishments and goals; a goal setting session was held later which walked the girls through the steps of making short and long term goals. Right before lunch was to arrive, I hit a wall of exhaustion, and left someone in charge of setting up and serving the food. I went to shower and take a nap for an hour or so. This couldn't possibly have been a better decision for me as I found out later how much energy I would need for the rest of the night...