Camps, Camps and More Camps

Maybe it’s an exaggeration, but I feel as if I’m always preparing for or coming back from some kind of camp for secondary school kids. This is must be because these camps have provided for some of my most rewarding and memorable experiences in Malawi. I love being a part of something that makes such a noticeable difference in the lives of kids here. The school year ended the first week in August and just started back up again on September 6th. In that four week span, I definitely kept myself busy, especially by working at both Camp GLOW and Camp Sky.

This was my first experience with Camp GLOW, Girls Leading Our World, a female empowerment camp put on by volunteers in countries throughout the world. I had sent students to this same camp last year and after noticing what a huge impact it had on them, I really wanted to help and share in the experience during this year’s camp. Nearly sixty or so Malawian high school aged girls were brought to a conference center, coincidentally at my closest major trading center, for a week where they were encouraged to stand up for themselves, their bodies and their futures. This included tons of guest speakers, influential Malawian women including the Malawian Vice President, Joyce Banda and a wide variety of other inspiring role models for the girls. They also attended a variety of classes and activities including those related to sexual health, the environment, self-esteem, women’s history, small business skills, community action, etc. I participated in the camp as a counsellor which meant that I along with my Malawian counterpart, a young nurse, were in charge of a group of about 11 girls for the week. The best part for me about this was our evening “pillow talk” sessions where we created a safe space for these girls to talk and express their feelings about the day’s lessons and whatever else was on their minds. Or course I also spent a lot of time singing and dancing and working with other counsellors to keep the girls energetic throughout the day and co-facilitated a few classes as well including Peer Education, Small Business Skills and Public Speaking.


Camp GLOW was a powerful experience for campers and counsellors alike. Here are a few pictures from the week!

Just a few days after Camp GLOW, it was time to travel a bit further north to Kasungu District for this year’s Camp Sky. I was really glad to be involved with the camp again this year and also really proud of all of the first year volunteers who worked hard to plan a very successful camp. The students had a great time and not only benefited from the lessons they received in the classroom but from extra-curricular activities as well. For my part, most of my work revolved around biology including teaching classes on plants and photosynthesis, helping with a goat dissection, teaching dichotomous keys and assisting in the sustainable agriculture class where the students learned about planting trees, permaculture and composting. Other than that I was of course busy lending a hand wherever I could, talking to students from schools throughout the country during meals and of course dancing at the disco on the last night. The core classes of Sky focused on math, physical science, biology and English. This year’s extracurricular activities, however, were even broader than last year’s and definitely enjoyed by students and teachers. The activities included: drama, sewing, agriculture, cooking, mud-stove making, business training, sports, poetry and many others as well as a field trip to the airport and Malawi Parliament.

My students benefited greatly from this year’s camp. Telinah, the girl whom I brought, has been so much louder, more confident and eager to participate in class since her experience. Ackson, the boy, wants me to “practice gender equality madam” and start a boy’s club to compliment our Gwangwa Girl’s Club here at school. A third student, Rosemary, participated as Junior Counselor; as always she did a great job motivating her friends and learned so much from her interactions with other students and teachers at camp. The camp has a second component called Teach Sky, at which Malawian teachers from CDSS’s come for training as well. This year I sent Mr. Gama, one of the teachers from my school and he has not stopped raving about all that he learned. He’s also passed on a lot of the materials and knowledge to our fellow teachers which means the camp is reaching even more people than anticipated.

Here are some pictures from Camp Sky 2010!