Camp GLOW & GROW

During my amazing vacation in Tonga with Katherine, I finally heard back from the Peace Corps with the news I had long been waiting for – my grant application had finally been approved. In order to get the ball rolling on my project as soon as possible and with Katherine leaving for America today, this post will discuss my camp program, with next week’s post detailing the incredible (and touristy) week and a half I spent with Katherine with pictures galore.

There is a link on the Peace Corps website where you can donate funds to the project and read a description about the what Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and GROW (Guys Reshaping Our World) are all about, but before I copy the link and rather than paste the description of the camps onto my blog I will instead explain our goals (I am working with three other volunteers and numerous Tongans) in my own words.

Camp GLOW is an internationally recognized program focusing on women’s empowerment and is run by Peace Corps Volunteers in countries throughout the world. The girls’ camp in Vava’u will cover important issues facing women in Tonga such as sexual health, the rights of women and children, and sexual harassment and domestic abuse. Camp GLOW was brought to Tonga in the past decade, and was successfully run in Vava’u the last few years.  With the main island deciding to cancel Camp GLOW this year and with only one female volunteer in charge of CAMP GLOW Vava’u, myself and several other male volunteers offered to help run the female camp.

After corroborating on the curriculum development of the girls camp, the other volunteers and I quickly saw the potential importance of what we were doing and lamented the absence of a boy’s camp. We did a little research to see if Camp GLOW had ever been successfully paired with a boys’ camp, and with the exception of a few small efforts, we were disappointed to see there were no such existing camps for young men. Thus, Camp GROW was born.

This year we are taking the top 20 girls and 15 boys from the Form 3 level of all the high schools in Vava’u – roughly grade 9 and 14 years old – and placing them into a boys and girls camp. The two camps will work parallel with each other and will come together when the topics apply to both sexes, but each camp will have its own mission with GLOW focusing of female empowerment and the rights of women and with GROW exploring vocational opportunities, healthy lifestyles, non-violence, women’s rights, and environmental responsibility.

Finally, before I post the link to donate, I want to say one thing first. The decision of whether or not to donate to charity or of what charity to choose is an extremely personal one. The last thing I want to do is stand up on a soapbox, preaching to my readers to donate to my charity. Only you can decide if you wish to donate money. There are many charities and organizations in much greater need of funds and with more important aims than my project. There are places where money can be sent to save lives and cure diseases. In all honesty, Camp GLOW and GROW will not do that.

However, if you want to contribute a little money to a project that I am working on and running, want to donate to Tonga, or wish to give your money knowing that 100% percent of your contribution will go to the project rather than to salaries or lost in bureaucracy, then I can promise GLOW and GROW will accomplish that. While we will not save lives or cure disease, I do strongly believe the project will do some good and have a profound affect upon the lives of these children. We are asking for $4,000 from the US (with the plan of raising the other $4,000 within Tonga) and I will be forever grateful to whoever decides to donate to this cause. Donations are completely anonymous, but if you do wish to let me know that you gave money, please email me so I can keep you updated on the project and know of your generosity.

The link to donate is www.peacecorps.gov/donate. To find the project just enter the Project # of 13-421-001 into the search engine and it will pop up. The page can also be found by entering Tonga or A. Pederson (the name of the female volunteer running Camp GLOW) into the search boxes.

Thank you all so much for your support. I cannot truly express into words how much it means to me and how much I appreciate any contribution you may make.

Happy 4^th of July!

 Having cleaned my house like I have never cleaned my house for Katherine's arrival, I figured that this would be a good time to take pictures of my house. This is my kitchen/common room/dining room - basically the room I do everything in except shower and sleep.

The same room from the other end. The white bucket in the right corner is my water filter.