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| Kelly R, co-director of GLOW and I at Mabuda Farms |
I am so thankful for the support of everyone back home who
made GLOW possible. GLOW is the hot
fudge and the cherry on top of my Peace Corps Service. It is the culmination of all the work I have
done throughout the last 2 years. The
most special thing about working with GLOW in Swaziland is that overcoming
gender roles, encouraging female empowerment and health education is so needed
here and through girls clubs and Camp GLOW I am really able to see an immediate
impact of the work with the girls I invited to Camp.
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| Clerisse Lemke, GLOW Director with one of her campers |
Camp was awesome! On the first full day of Camp was all
about sexual and reproductive health, an important topic since many young girls
in Swaziland don’t have an option to make decisions about their own bodies or
the knowledge about how to make decisions if they are given the opportunity. We talked about anatomy, hygiene, STIs,
contraceptives, abstinence and alternatives to sex, having a child by choice,
and healthy relationships. It was a day
heavy with information, and throughout the week we worked on giving the girls
the confidence to be able to use this information to benefit their own lives.
The second day was a lot of fun as we explored the girls’
creativity. A Swazi art gallery, Yebo!
Art has an Art Outreach Program that we were able to benefit from for the
second year running. With Yebo! The
girls were able to express their creativity through painting, poetry, and
decorating their t-shirts with their own unique screen prints. It was great to see the girls really get into
the sessions on art day since they don’t have art classes in school and
creativity and ingenuity isn’t celebrated in this culture.
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| Some of the artwork created by campers on Art Day. |
The last two days were all about leadership, teamwork, goal
setting, and looking to the future. On
the last night, the girls participated in a talent show where they were able to
display the courage and confidence they have been working on all week. The girls really had talent! We watched cultural dancing, hip hop and
gum-boot dancing, singing, skits, and poetry.
One of the best moments of the week happened during the talent show one
of the deaf girls concluded her group dance with a solo and the crowd erupted
with sign language applause!
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| Sizakele participating in the leadership activity while Bandzile looks on. |
There were many other great moments from camp that I will
always remember. I was so proud of the
counselors we trained in January who came to camp and really stepped up into
the leadership roles. They were expected
to lead the health sessions we taught them three months ago, and with only
little preparation they did a fantastic job.
We really relied on the counselors for leading sessions and translating
because some of the campers were young and all of them came from really rural
areas where the standard of English is below average. Also, during the poetry session I enjoyed
watching one of my campers perform a poem about how HIV affects her life. I enjoyed washable sanitary pad making, as a
sustainable and less expensive option for a girl’s time-of-the-month. I enjoyed the open and honest conversations
and questions the girls asked of us about health, sex, and relationships. It showed success in creating a safe and
welcome environment. I enjoyed watching
campers try to learn sign language and engage the two deaf campers. I enjoyed watching my shy campers gain
confidence throughout the week and come out of their shells. I enjoyed the camaraderie and enthusiasm that
was built throughout the week. And lastly, I enjoyed working with otherPCVs on
the GLOW Organizing Committee. We did
such a great and comprehensive job planning the camp that there were no major
setbacks or incidents. Everything went according to plan, more or less. Together, we have set a high bar for next
year’s Committee.
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| My girls and I - From the left: Counselor: Fisiwe Dlamin, Campers: Siphiwe Shongwe, Bandzile Ngenethwa, me, and Sizakele Dlamini |
Close of Service
Conference
The day after GLOW Camp finished the GLOW Organizing
Committee along with the other remaining members of my group came together in
the capitol city for our Close of Service Conference. We all met two years ago as strangers in a
hotel in Philadelphia, and now we are preparing to finish our service in two
short months. This was our last
conference together. It was designed as
an opportunity to debrief our service, to talk about all the good things we did
and skills we gained and to start planning our next steps as we prepare to
re-enter America. The conference was
held at a beautiful hotel south of the capitol city called Forester’s Arms. It was such a treat, decorated in
country-chic with such comfortable beds, delicious food, and beautiful views
the week was beyond any expectation.
The last day we were honored by a visit from the Deputy
Director of the Peace Corps. She
traveled all the way from Washington DC.
As we sat in the conference room, she was so genuine and told stories
from her Peace Corps Service. She asked
us all to introduce ourselves and our favorite part of our service. When it was my time to speak, I motioned to
all of us on the GLOW organizing committee.
We were all wearing the GLOW t-shirts my dad had made for us which made
a huge impression on the Director. She
could really see how proud we were of the work we have done. I also mentioned
my work I have done with hand crafts in my community. Afterward she bought 3 baskets from me that I
was selling for the women in my community.
It is so cool to know that the work from the women in my community will
be displayed in the office of such a powerful woman in Washington!
What a great two weeks!
What a way to end these two years of service and so proud to have had
the experience. Only 9 weeks left in
Swaziland.
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