I apologize for my absence recently. After camp finished I took some much needed down time and have found it harder to get back to the blog. But here I am, I’ve come down with some type of bug and can’t seem to get out of my bed. So I figured between watching the entire 6th season of gossip girl I could take a break and blog a bit about camp. Also the rain flooded my house TWICE yesterday and I'm taking a little bit of a break from being inside my house.. I am currently at a friends house with what feels like high speed internet but really its just 3G. Oh paraguay.
It was a whirlwind, but it was everything we planned and hopped for. Kids came, it was a smaller number then we anticipated but we are a newer camp to Paraguay and I was happy to even have kids show up. They learned a lot and were so receptive of the information we shared. They opened up with each other and were able to discuss topics that some of them have never talked about before. We danced and sang a lot. Whats camp with out that? There was pool time and even a camp fire complete with s’mores.
Each day started with a question relating to Sound Mind and Body and at the end of the day the campers had time to journal and reflect on that same question. We had different exercises each morning and practiced healthy stress relievers. We had speakers from the capitol come talk and share about domestic violence, gender in the media, nutrition, mental health, stigma and HIV. Also with in the Peace Corps volunteers that were present at the camp we spoke out about gender roles, values, body image, self esteem and self respect.
These campers were exposed to a lot of topics and for some it was their very first time. With a smaller number of campers in attendance we all felt really close at the end of camp and I could see the change in the campers. I was confident that we were sending leaders back into their communities ready to stand up for their values and make a difference.
Thank you so much to everyone that supported this camp. I plan on sending out individual thank you’s once I get state side. But for now thank you so much. This camp would have never been such a success without your support. Please enjoy some pictures below from our week at camp.
