Estrellas de Hoy!

G.L.O.W. Girls Leading OUR World??

sometimes you get to where you aspire to be before even considering where it is you want to go.
This past week, I reached a goal I had not even set for myself. now, it is rare to reach a goal and feel that sense of accomplishment that only finishing a deodorant stick can achieve, let alone, really pulling through on something meaningful.
I didn't know it yet, but I wanted to be part of providing a girls camp that dealt with issues facing teenagers today and I wanted it to be paid for so cost would not stand in the way of education. 24 Peace Corps volunteers and I just finished a 5 day summer camp for girls around the Dominican Republic. We slept in tents with girls from our communities across the D.R. We ate all our meals together, chit chatted and giggled together, played sports and talked about the latest for girls in the D.R. today. We talked about self-esteem, our bodies inside and out, the D.R.'s relationship with Haiti and discrimination, "good hair" and "bad hair" and just about everything else under the sun. I learned so much from so many of the chicas and couldn't help but be jealous of every activity offered to them. I could not believe how incredible it was to see all these teenage girls constantly on the brink of epiphanies, constantly letting important information sink in. In such a machismo society it was unbelievably empowering to give these girls an opportunity to be away from any male "mandaring" (sending/ordering) them to the Colmado or to do chores. They were so stimulated by everything volunteers and guests were discussing and remarkably inviting and accepting. I am not sure who benefitted more from the camp; me or the girls from Duveaux. I wanted to participate just as much as the next "counselor"! We made dream catchers, earrings out of buttons, friendship bracelets, designed diaries, wrote in journals and reflected on the days activities.
I was so proud and excited when my girls talked about what they had learned and what they were going to bring back to their community. One of the girls I brought, Daniela, from El Limon, said she was going to raise her self-esteem and not get pregnant until she was absolutely ready. Listening to these girls make such huge statements was so overwhelming. I couldn't believe how much each of them had grown in 5 days. They were all of a sudden so open to so many new ideas and concepts. Franyelina, one of the 14-year-old twins said she learned to "dejar mi timidez" (leave her timidness) and she really did! the first day she got so nervous about being separated from her twin and by the end of the week she was raising her hand for just about everything and leading group discussions. Anyelina - other 14-year-old twin (of course) wrote that she wanted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer in her dream catcher. Instead of telling her that the Peace Corps is a U.S. organization, I just smiled and embraced that she looked up to me! I could not ask to be part of a better camp than G.L.O.W. (Estrellas de Hoy - Stars of Today) I was actually supposed to go to the Medical Office during the week, but didn't because I was too busy with camp and didn't think it was anything serious. I ended up getting a really uncomfortable boil on the back of my leg, but as they say "vale la pena". It was all worth it. Hands down. Estrellas de Hoy is probably the most gratifying thing I have done as a Peace Corps volunteer. It is unbelievable to see what a group of 25 people can do when we all work together with the same goal in mind. I can only hope that any one of the girls from any one of the 25 communities invited to camp G.L.O.W. felt somewhat empowered by the time they jumped on the bus back home Friday. I felt more empowered or motivated by this camp to keep going and work harder to open up more opportunities to teenagers all over the D.R.

Towards the end of camp, I was worried that I would be so sad and bored because all the excitement was over and there was nothing left to prepare for. However, one of the best parts of camp actually turned out to be being back in my community and feeling so much more comfortable with Franyelina and Anyelina (the twins I brought to camp). I fell asleep on their "galleria" (front porch) the other day and couldn't have been better cared for if I was at some B&B on Martha's Vineyard. They brought me a pillow, covered me up with a sheet and best of all.... they used the huge piece of paper they traced their bodies on (during a charla about society's image of the female body and their actual body image) to keep the sun out of my eyes. It was better than any thank you I could have ever gotten.

Thank you to all the relatives, friends and generous citizens that helped support this camp. Here is an outline of our schedule and a list of some of the charlas (presentations) volunteers gave so you know what you contributed to...

MONDAY: Team Buiding, Self-Esteem, Healthy Friendships and Bracelet Making, pool.
TUESDAY: Body Image, Women around the World, Nutrition and Exercise, Condom and Teen Pregnancy, pool, Button earrings.
WEDNESDAY: Relationship between Haiti and the D.R., Reproductive Health, Healthy Relationships, Sex & Gender, pool, Talent Show, Thank You Notes.
THURSDAY: Income Generation, Life Planning, Professional Panel, pool, Stars, Bonfire, S'Mores
FRIDAY: How to start a girls group, Certificates, Closing Ceremony, Presenting Higuero tree to Rancho Campeche, Hugs, Pictures, Slideshow

We also played volleyball, basketball, and did Yoga!

If you want to contribute to camp G.L.O.W. for next summer you can start now and make the stress less for volunteers come June. Just make a check out to Alianza O.N.G. for whatever amount you would like and send it to me
Rachel Gottesman
Cuerpo de Paz
A.P.D.O 1412
451 Avenida Bolivar
Gazcue
Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic