The Road Less Traveled : Counselor Bonding

Slowly but steadily progress on Camp GLOW & GROW is moving along. Our schedule and curriculum have been finalized. Speakers have been approached to lead sessions ranging from healthy life styles to family planning to environmental awareness to women’s rights and domestic violence. A catering contract has been created and signed. The campers, the essential part of the program, are signed up, and we expect a good showing for our parents meeting tomorrow. And, as pertains to this blog post, our counselors have been chosen.

We – volunteers – like to immodestly and optimistically proclaim many inspirational and profound lessons that will emerge from Camp GLOW & GROW, but one of the less discussed anticipated impacts of the camp centers on the counselors. Though the main subject of the camp are the campers, the Form 3 boys and girls, the aim is also for the counselors to learn the same information as the campers from the speakers who come, while simultaneously improving their leadership skills by being responsible for the campers and leading sessions themselves. The goal is very much to instill confidence in our counselors so that they understand that they have the ability to accomplish anything they desire.

For the girls finding counselors was easy. Each of the female staff has long been a part of Camp GLOW, either as a former camper or counselor. They are all old pros of the camp, and observing the enjoyment they receive from helping and their clear appreciation for Glow’s goals has been one of the most gratifying parts of my work so far. Since the boys camp is new, there were no former counselors to fall back on and we instead chose 4 boys – two 19 year olds, and 18 year old senior in high school, and a 16 year old sophomore in high school – who we know and whom we believe exemplify the attributes we want in our counselors. We had our first meeting 2 weeks ago to explain to them their duties and go over the schedule, but the real fun, and in some ways the true start to the camp began last week.

Last Saturday, an American couple who owns a sail boat that they run charters off of graciously offered to take us and our counselors on a day sail, free of charge, as a fun way to bond before the beginning of the camp. We were only too happy to accept the incredibly generous offer, so at 9:30 in the morning 4 Peace Corps Volunteers, 4 Camp Glow counselors, and 4 Camp Grow counselors embarked. Our goals were two fold: to instruct the counselors in greater detail about their responsibilities and to have fun.

I won’t bore you with all the nitty gritty details, but will instead state what we did broadly to show everyone reading and those who were so amazing as to contribute to the camp where your money will soon be going. Lead by Yamiha, an amazing Tongan counselor in her early 20’s who has been part of Camp Glow for its entire 4 year history in Vava’u, we went through the schedule with the counselors to explain what their duties would be and what the camp would look like. Speaking better Tongan than any of us could ever hope to achieve, Yamiha made everything click for our counselors.

The rest of the morning was spent sailing to one of the islands, enjoying a little swimming in the beautiful waters to get refreshed from the hot Pacific sun, and then back to work. The next part of the meeting was to teach the counselors little games or “energizers” that they would play with the campers at various times to keep them engaged. Anyone who has attended a camp or worked for a business with a particularly conscientious HR department would recognize these games. One of the games, called kwa (said as if you were a ninja), consists of everyone standing in a circle, while one person points to someone yelling kwa, who then raises his hands in air saying kwa, while the two people next to him pretend to slice him in the stomach while also saying kwa, and this keeps going until someone makes a mistake. It is incredibly silly, but everyone always laughs and enjoys the game, and it is an easy way to break the ice or rejuvenate yourself after a long day.

The last part of business, other than swimming, snorkeling, and enjoying some fantastic American food (PESTO!) was explaining the bridge model. The bridge model, an essential part of Camp Glow and one that we have adopted for Camp Grow, defines the critical thinking and decision-making sessions of the camps that we believe are so vital for both the campers and the counselors leading the sessions. The bridge model consists of two islands, the ocean, and a bridge drawn on a piece of paper. The first island stands for where they are now, such as High School students, inhabitants of Vava’u, sons and daughters. The second island represents where they want to be in the future, such as high school graduates, teachers, doctors, good husbands and wives. The water signifies all the potential dangers that could stop them from reaching these goals, like illness, unwanted pregnancy, drugs, and alcohol. Finally, the bridge encompasses how the students will navigate these potential risks through concepts such as good decision making, studying, and hanging out with good role models. The bridge model represents the core of the camp experience, and this description is expanded throughout the four days. The counselors seem to really understand this concept, and are eager to teach it themselves next month.

The rest of day was spent talking and playing a few other energizer games. It was a truly amazing day. We were able to spend some quality time with our counselors, get to know each other better, and learn a little bit in the process. It was one of the best days I have had as a volunteer, as it combined a fun experience with work that I am truly passionate about, and I cannot express my gratitude enough to the American couple who took us out on their boat. It was an amazing offer and a great day.

Thank you all for reading. Before I get to the pictures, I wanted to state that for those of you who read last weeks post about rugby, my school region won the rugby tournament. You can see a photo of the winning team below. As for the other pictures below, they were taken by Mandy, another volunteer, with her terrific camera skills and her great camera. Thanks to her for sharing these with me and please enjoy them.