Camp GLOW

I just returned to site from term break, which was a complete whirlwind. So many things happened - our In-Service-Training, complete with an Iron Chef competition, Camp GLOW in Northern Uganda, a safari to Murchison Falls, a trip to Kampala to work on the My Language Spelling Bee, and a date night with Kris in the capital (we saw Amazing Spiderman and I ate pumpkin ravioli - where were we?). All of these happenings will be elaborated on in further blogs, but I would like to start with the one very close to my heart, Camp GLOW.

Camp GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World and is a week-long camp organized by Peace Corps for Ugandan girls aged 13 to 18. The camp focuses on empowering women by educating them on a variety of topics and engaging them in activities that build leadership skills, self-esteem, self-awareness, and assertiveness. Campers are broken up into "families" of eight, and each family has an American and Ugandan counselor. This year, the families were named after successful African women. Mine was Proscovia Orumait, the youngest member of Parliament in Uganda and on the African continent. I welcomed the Orumait family on Sunday, May 4th in Northern Uganda and sent them off the following Saturday. The change I witnessed in those girls in a mere week was incredible.

During that week my campers, co-counselor and I slept together, ate together, and attended sessions and activities together. Being a counselor was literally a 24/7 job that was beyond exhausting and beyond rewarding. Each morning started with "movement," led by amazing people from the Ugandan organization of In Movement, and continued into sessions on different subjects such as Income Generating Activities, Human Rights, Reproductive Health, Public Speaking, Gender in Agriculture, and Reusable Menstrual Pads. Afternoons involved activities such as tie dye, creative writing, heroine presentations, a visit to a ropes course, and good ol' camp games, while the evenings had sessions also led by In Movement such as Late Night Art and Theater Improv.

I could not begin to describe everything that we did that week, but I can share some of the highlights and lots of pictures taken by Dan and Lantana, the camp photographers, and by me.

We had training with our fellow counselors the day before the campers got there -  I was really sick but managed to get a ride with a friend!

We slept 30+ people to a room in bunk beds. Dorms like these are very common in Uganda for secondary schools and universities. It was enlightening to get a taste of what is everyday life for so many Ugandan students!

The Ugandan girls were almost the opposite of American campers in that you could not get them to stop bathing and doing laundry! They would wake up early (like 5:30 a.m. early) to bathe and would sneak off to was their clothes in secret during the day.

Getting to know each other on the first day.

My group, Orumait, was green. The public speaking session is where I first saw them coming out of their shells, engaged in a very hot debate over whether or not a rich man can treat a poor man like a slave if he pays him.

The Income Generating Activities session was amazing and my girls had so many great ideas for their own businesses.

We also talked a lot about value addition, such as drying pineapple to sell for more than you can get for fresh pineapple.

Gracie, one of the amazing Ugandans from In Movement, led a wonderful session on vision boards. She was an incredible role model for the campers, who fondly nicknamed her "Swag."

The Reusable Menstrual Pads session was also very popular, with each girl sewing and taking home her own kit. One of my campers said she planned to not only use it, but to make and sell them to her friends as well!

One of my campers with long "hair." Everyone in public primary and secondary schools must shave their heads up until a certain age. I've been told this is done to promote equality, as hair can be very expensive for women to take care of here and thus someone's hairstyle can easily denote their income level.

White ants, very common in Uganda, especially Northern Uganda, as a fried treat. (Yes, I tried some. They just taste like any crunchy fried things).

During the rainy season, they swarm, usually around lights. They lose their wings overnight (worst job ever, evolution) and basically crawl around until they die and you are greeted with a carpet of dead ants in the morning.

The girls went absolutely crazy catching them and we could not get them to bed that night. They woke up even earlier the next morning to cook them too!

My campers during a very powerful session on climate change.

Using the globe to show the distance between Uganda and America, and the distance between places in America that the counselors come from, really hit home with the campers.

Water, Flour, Air. Who doesn't love tormenting their counselors?

One of my campers after climbing the rock wall at the ropes course - I was so proud of her for overcoming her fear of heights. All the girls loved the rock wall, zip line, spider web, and problem-solving/team-building games we did throughout our time there. One of them even said, somewhat heartbreakingly, "I've never played all day before!" 

One of my absolute favorite moments - Dan, a staff member and huge heavy metal fan, sharing his passion with the campers in a session. I never thought that they would be interested in heavy metal at all, but Dan had to practically beg them to let him close the session after hours spent head-banging, mosh-pitting, and crowd-surfing. Dan showed them something that he truly loved, and the girls responded in a wonderful way.

The Ugandan counselors also really enjoyed watching. One of them tried to quiet the girls while attempting to listen to a particularly raucous heavy metal song, and I practically died trying not to laugh at her command: "You girls listen! This is a very nice song!" 

We also flash-mobbed the girls on their first day! We then taught them the dance and as a camp, sprang a flash mob on the neighboring boys' camp. Awesomeness. Also, every girl there could dance 1,000 times better than I could ever dream of dancing.

Orumait cheer during field games!

The Career Fair was one of the biggest hits, with girls talking and meeting with successful Ugandan businesswomen. I had a very earnest talk with one of the girls afterwards about her plan to implement her own business, and the way she talked so knowledgeably about her biggest challenges, "time and capital," was absolutely inspiring. I told her that in 10 years, she would be coming back to the camp just like one of the successful businesswomen she had seen that day.

On the last night of camp, we did an activity with our families where one girl sat in the middle of a circle with her eyes closed while the rest of the group told her what they had seen, loved, and admired about her that week. I wrote down the comments to give to each camper, and it brought tears to my eyes to see how much these girls had grown into leaders and how much they had come to care for each other. At the end, they even did it for my co-counselor and I. It's a memory I will always treasure.

The whole camp.

At the very end of of the week, all of the girls broke into groups with other campers from their regions and created action plans detailing how they were going to bring what they learned back to their community. We counselors circulated to help, but really, our help was not needed at all. The way they were excitedly and assertively discussing the sessions, clubs, and businesses they were going to implement when they returned makes me hopeful that the ripples Camp GLOW started are going to spread to young women all over Uganda. Either way, I know that Camp GLOW made a difference with them and is a week that they will never forget - because they told me so.

"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." - Marilyn Monroe

Grand Opening

The last few days of the term I opened up the little library that I have been working on for months. The students flocked in, destroying any semblance of order I had imposed since I haven't yet had the chance to teach them how to properly use a library, but they absolutely loved it. Seeing the looks on their faces, watching them pour over the books, and hearing them read aloud their favorite picks have been some of my happiest moments here, hands down. It was a great way to end my first term at the the primary school.

Found my first bookworm while getting the library ready - it wasn't quite as cute as my Mom and I were when we dressed up as bookworms for Halloween.

 The view outside our library.

 Our small collection of books, which will hopefully start growing!

 Dropping some of my Runyankore knowledge on the pupils.

 All of the books are graded according to reading level - which involved a lot of educated guessing, especially for the Runyankore books. If I could read it - beginning level!

 Reading corner.

 Grain sacks make great posters.

 Some of the pictures the pupils drew during DEAR Day.

Just one of the best things ever.

A happy heart.

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library."

- Jorge Luis Borges

Creation with Donations

I love libraries - any kind of library. Two shelves in a friend's home that I pour through, looking for books I haven't read yet that I can steal. An old, musty library where I can get lost in the stacks, running my hands along the coarse spines of aged books. A new library, full of light and computers where kids plop down in sunny spots filled with brightly-colored mini-tables and chairs. Some of my happiest and most content moments in life have taken place inside that comforting, inspiring, and magical setting.

I have been volunteering or working in libraries ever since elementary school (although in elementary school "volunteer" really meant bugging the librarians until they would let me help them). I am not surprised, but rather incredibly happy, that I find myself working in a library in Uganda as well, although this time I am doing more than just working in one - I am creating one. Which, let's just face it, is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

As the first step to creating an actual library through financial aid and book donations as requested by my primary school, I have been working with the teachers to bring down the books that they do have to an empty classroom. After several Primary 7 pupils helped me carry down the few cabinets of books, I spent several weeks dusting, debugging, taping, and otherwise repairing and organizing the collection. This gave me a lot of time to think about the nature of book donations in general.

Most of the books in our current collection have been donated to the school in the past from Western countries. While I know that sending books to Africa is mostly done with the best of intentions, it appears that some education about donations needs to go along with those intentions. The kids at my school are hungry for books, this is true, but it does not mean that any book will suit their needs.

 We have a set of 25 books on shorthand - and not introductory shorthand, but accompanying texts to an intermediate book.

We also have a set of books on Canadian business mathematics - I mean, when will knowing what 50 cents in Canadian currency looks like NOT be useful in Uganda?

While sending old books that are no longer used in the U.S., Britain, or Canada may seem like a win-win for both those schools and African schools, outdated texts that are often eurocentric are not necessarily helpful for African students anymore either.

 I am guessing that kid probably didn't get his money...I wonder if he still feels the same about Metallica.

Copyright 1964 - and this is not the oldest textbook we have.

Despite the years that have passed, the jokes still remain the same.

In order for truly successful and useful libraries in Africa to be created, donations need to be solicited in a way that enables the recipient librarian to evaluate and select the materials that they need with their patrons in mind. Unfortunately, not just any books will do. Libraries need stock which is relevant, of an appropriate reading and language level, and reflective of their own culture and literature as well as others. 20 copies of Vanna White's biography just don't quite meet those standards.

It is true that my students are desperate to read, gain knowledge and further their educations; so much of their potential is going unfulfilled because of a lack of supplies, and I know that they are grateful for any books that are placed in their hands. However, to make their potential a reality, they don't need just any tools - they need the right tools. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to provide just that. We already are lucky to have some books that address the language, current issues, and culture of our kids, and I am so excited to share those books with them:

A book in the local language, Runyankore - reading these books helps me study too!

Part of the Fountain Youth Survival Kit for Schools, created with Ugandan youth in mind.

A beginning English book written and published in Uganda.

With time, more work, and donations that take the needs of both the donor and recipient into account, we could reveal paths to these students that they have never been able to glimpse before and possibly even provide some of the comfort, inspiration, and magic that filled my childhood.

If you are interested in learning a little more about this, the following paper is one of the few studies I've found that addresses this issue. It also offers several new ideas to traditional book donation: Traditional Book Donation to Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Harry — I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!”

And she sprinted away, up the stairs.

“What does she understand?” said Harry distractedly, still looking around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.

“Loads more than I do,” said Ron, shaking his head.

“But why’s she got to go to the library?”

“Because that’s what Hermione does,” said Ron, shrugging. “When in doubt, go to the library.” 

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

That Old Clichéd Roller Coaster

"Clichés remind and reassure us that we're not alone, that others have trod this ground long ago."  -Miguel Syjuco

Recently, a friend and fellow volunteer of mine posted a chart on her blog that I had almost forgotten about. It was a chart that they had shown us when we first arrived in Uganda and it detailed the roller coaster that is moving to another country and engaging in service work. Seeing it was like a bright, solar-powered light bulb had just gone off over my head. Suddenly, everything I had been feeling made more sense.

Image Source

We are four to five months into our time here, and just look at that dip in the roller coaster! I wasn’t losing it. The frustration, the anger, the crying – it was all normal for this point in our transition. What an absolute relief. There’s something about knowing that you aren’t alone in what you are going through, that everyone goes through it, that there is even a detailed diagram of it…it makes everything just a little bit easier to deal with.

At the deepest of the drops on this ride thus far, I doubted everything I thought I had known about myself. My time here combined with my service work has led to countless self-revelations, and facing them has not always been easy. Many times I have felt deeply disappointed with myself, as an excerpt from my journal a few weeks ago illustrates:

“Being strong back in the States seems like a lie. The result merely of fortunate circumstances. But I still want that lie back. I want that easy life. Life here is hard, it’s too hard, and how much I want to escape from it, how much I want conveniences and luxuries and to understand what’s going on around me deeply ashames me. To my very core. It ashames me and seems to tell me, ‘See how much you want this Heidi? See your struggle here? This proves that you are not the warrior or the idealist that you imagined and daydreamed you were. You are not the hero or adventurer you loved to read about and compare yourself to. You are not living up to that picture of yourself that you held so near and dear, so secretly and delicately, to your heart. You are being tested, and you are failing.’”

Service is hard, and I knew that it would be, or I at least thought I did, and I thought I could face it. But as I have come to so acutely realize, knowing something and experiencing that something are two entirely different beasts. There are parts of me, secret self-doubts carefully nestled in distant corners of my mind, that I hadn’t dared disturb before. Being in the Peace Corps has dislodged those fears from their resting spots, shone light on those far-flung parts of myself. When times are hard, we have a tendency to cling to who we know we are. But when everything around us is unfamiliar and reality is often harsh, we start to question who we thought we were. It is easy to hide from that glaring reality instead; it is easy to stop the fight to avoid the pain.

But I haven’t stopped fighting, although it sometimes takes more effort than I could have dreamed possible. I continue to learn more about myself every day and am beginning to accept the fact that I am not, perhaps, who I thought I was. Most importantly, I have come to understand that going through this doesn’t mean that I am failing. Wise words from friends, progress being made in my service here, and most of all, time and further self-reflection has helped me start to climb the next hill on this clichéd but ever-so-real ride. I almost decided not to write about my experiences here at the bottom of the roller coaster for fear of worrying people back home, but I think that it is important to do so because this ride is one that many idealists set out on. Facing what it means to actually attempt to make a difference can be disheartening. The realities of service are often hard, as is any endeavor to effect real and lasting change.

But I have not given up, and I am not alone. I have realized that being strong doesn’t mean that you always feel strong; true growth and change is painful. The light that service is shining on those far-off corners of myself may be harsh and blinding, but I will adjust, and learn, and become the better for it. And perhaps, along the way, I will be able to do some good as well.

“There is always hardness of pain that comes with real internal change…when you look at great leaders who imparted change in the world, they often suffered a lot, sometimes spiritually, sometimes physically, in their journeys. But they found the joy in what they did because they were following their bliss.”

                                    - Andrea Ruggirello

D.E.A.R. Day

March 26^th was a momentous day – Uganda’s first annual Drop Everything and Read Day! DEAR Day was sponsored by Peace Corps Uganda and the Ministry of Education and Sports. Don’t ask me why “and Sports,” after all, it’s not the Ministry of Magic and Quidditch…but the government sponsorship made the day a true country-wide holiday. All over Uganda, schools and other organizations dropped everything and read at 11 a.m. that Wednesday. While the American name was confusing - many of my Ugandan coworkers were actually calling the day “Read and Drop,” which would have been a much more tragic affair – the spirit of the day was taken up wholeheartedly.

Kris and I organized a combined event for both of our schools. 27 of Kris’s first-year college students, who are studying to become primary teachers, volunteered to participate. Before the event, we gave two classes on how, and why, to give in-class read-alouds. We also helped the students to pick out their books for the read-alouds. Seeing them intensely comb through the picture books that the college library owns was really heartwarming. On the day of the event, the students came down to my primary school and divided up to spend two hours reading to each class. This was the college students’ first experience in classrooms as teachers, and it was wonderful to see them up in front of the pupils, sharing their chosen picture books with them, and just having a great time reading. While there were some logistical bumps along the way, overall, the event was a success. Many of the first-years said that they couldn’t wait to do it again. It was a great confidence booster for the college students while at the same time introducing the primary school pupils to some of the many amazing places that reading can take them. The pupils had what I hope was a very special experience; at least their smiles seemed to say so.

My colored chalk was a big hit.

We divided up the larger classes and, luckily, had a brief dry spell during this rainy season!

It was great to see the college students’ enthusiasm and command of the classroom.

Afterwards, the pupils drew and wrote about their favorite parts. 

 There was even a brief musical interlude! Then again, there are always musical interludes here. Which is awesome.

 

The P2 class.

Not every day out here is easy or rewarding, but moments like these – especially the moments with books and smiles - make those difficult days worth it.

“I know it’s hard and lonely work, but it’s so important to reach out in this peaceful way.” – Julie Powell

P.S. It took two hours to upload this blog entry. So thanks for actually reading it.