Dear Blog Readers Near and Far,
Mālō e lelei! That’s a friendly hello from the Kingdom of
Tonga. As most all of you know, I’m
currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer here on a small island called
Vava’u. My primary assignment is
teaching English at a local school, but I also participate in various secondary
activities. One of these activities is
something called Camp GLOW, a delightful acronym that stands for Girls Leading
Our World.
Camp GLOW is held in Peace Corps countries all
over the world and strives to encourage young women to become active citizens
by building their confidence, increasing their self-awareness, and developing
their skills in goal setting and career planning. High School girls who exhibit academic
excellence and leadership potential are invited to this weeklong camp free of
charge. They get to interact with
speakers who are successful Tongan women in business, health, and a variety of
other fields. The girls participate in activities focused on goal setting,
critical thinking and decision making, computer literacy, public speaking,
conflict resolution, the rights of women and children, sexual harassment and
domestic abuse, nutrition, first aid, and environmental responsibility. Every
day presents a chance for play and self-expression in a safe and encouraging
environment.
I had the pleasure of being a part of
Camp GLOW Vava’u last year so I can tell you from experience that this is an
absolutely worthwhile cause. At first
glance, the activities that I mentioned above might not sound all that life
changing. Growing up in America, youth
are almost bombarded with opportunities to hone their critical thinking skills
and learn about decision making. The
context of our American culture (and hopefully also loving families and great
role models) instills in young people the belief that they have power over
their own destinies. Tongan girls don’t
have that same experience; many have trouble imagining their future following a
path that diverges from the experiences of their mothers, grandmothers,
sisters, and aunts (many of whom didn’t even receive a high school education).
..but times are changing!
This year, I am part of a very small
group of Peace Corps Volunteers planning and facilitating the camp. We are in the midst of planning and fundraising locally and
internationally for 2012. It’s a huge task but, the camps for the past two years
have proven to be well worth the blood, sweat, and (happy) tears that go into
planning and implementing them. This is where I need your help.
The local community has
contributed 50% of the cost of the camp for 2012 and Peace Corps Volunteers are
responsible for funding the other half. We are doing this online through the
Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP). The PCPP allows friends, family, and
organizations abroad donate to Peace Corps projects across the world [and all
donations are 100% tax deductible!].
Working with these young
girls and providing for them an opportunity to become informed, active,
independent, and responsible citizens- an otherwise unreachable goal in Tonga-is
something that means the world to me, and it would mean even more if you could
show your support.
If you think you’d be
able to make a donation to this exceptional project, please follow this link: Camp GLOW
2012
Thank you so much for
your time. Please feel free to email me
if you have any questions or would just like to say Hi!
All the Best,
Nora Graves
PCV, Kingdom of Tonga
