Last year I asked my friends
and family to donate to a leadership camp for young Tongan men and women. I was
completely blown away by everyone’s generosity as we raised all of the money we
needed within a week. I was humbled by peoples’ decision to donate to a cause that
I was running and was so passionate about, and I vowed to honor their
generosity by ensuring that Camp Grow and Glow provided a transformative
experience for our campers. I truly believe that the camp accomplished that
goal last year and I hope to do so again this year. I posted what follows below
last year and I would like the repost it now:
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) is 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 the
last two years and with only one female volunteer in charge of CAMP GLOW
Vava’u, myself and and another male volunteer 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
running Camp Glow and Grow from September 22 to the 26th. The 2014
edition will last 5 days instead of 4 and will have twice as many campers, as
we hope to spread more information to a greater number of students. The campers
all come from the local high schools of Vava’u and have been selected, with
help from their teachers, on the merits of their leadership skills and strong
academic performance.
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, would like 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 $1,500 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.
If you wish to
donate, the link to give money is as follows:
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.
Please enjoy the
photos below of last years Camp Glow and Grow taken by the Glow director, Mandy
Pederson.
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