Blogging It Home

Proud to represent Uganda in Washington, D.C.! 

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who helped out and voted for my blog last month during the Blog It Home contest. I couldn't have done it without everyone's help, and every vote counted. Peace Corps' Office of the Third Goal flew me to Washington DC for a week of events around the capital. I went to the White House, met with my congressional representatives, spoke French on  Voice of America (which was broadcasted to over 170 million people in West Africa), spoke to Girl Scouts and school assemblies, and presented my blog to HQ staff on our last day. It was a fabulous week and I'm so grateful that I was able to go. In between all these meetings and speeches was endless (truly!) sushi platters, draught beers and iced coffees and meeting new friends. 

We were nine Volunteers total who were flown to DC for this event: Sara from Guinea, Keith and Heather from China, Anna from Cameroon, Jill from Albania, Erica from Senegal, Bronwen from the Dominican Republic and Christine from Thailand. We quickly all got along since we had so much in common, especially as a group of (almost) all females. Keith was a really good sport :) . One of the things I enjoyed most about the week was hearing not only about all the different countries where Peace Corps Volunteers serve, but hearing from other bloggers about how they use writing as a way of educating Americans about where they live. We all had different styles, different angles and motivations for blogging, but at the end of the day the message was clear: this is the best way to give a glimpse of what my life is like in our respective countries. 

Christine, our blogger from Thailand, tries to make a video once a week on different cultural aspects of Thailand. She wants people to know more about Thailand than beaches, riding elephants and full-moon parties. Sara writes about Guinea to offer another glimpse of life in Guina, other than what is being spread on the news about the Ebola outbreak. Keith and Heather had my favorite blog title: Sponge and Slate. When we asked them why they chose this name for their blog, Heather explained that Keith wanted to be like a sponge and soak up everything there is to know about China, while Heather wanted a clean slate and a new adventure. I think it is such a clever name. 

DC was fast-paced and it was definitely unsettling at first. I went home one year ago for my cousin's wedding but to be honest, this week in DC felt like the first time back in the US in two years. I was completely out of my element, having come from the village where my water and power went out so I couldn't bathe for three days. All of a sudden, I was staying in the Hilton Garden Inn with endless hot water, room service a phone call away and a door that I couldn't figure out how to open for about ten minutes.

The first night I arrived in DC, I went out to sushi (surprise!) and then walked ten blocks to the Lincoln Memorial at dusk. I hadn't been back there in three years and I've never been there after dark. I was also told that somewhere in one of his speeches is a typo in the engraving, and I was determined to find it. If there's two things I love, it's Abe Lincoln and finding grammatical errors. The Lincoln Memorial was spectacular at night, all lit up and full of people. It was a magical place, I could have stayed there for hours. I bought a pack of Bubbalicious gum and sat on the steps chewing' my bubble gum (never did find that typo tho). 

Over the course of the week, we met with people at the White House, our congressional leaders, the Girl Scouts, the ONE campaign, Smithsonian magazine, a Diplomat-in-Residence and spoke at a few school assemblies. It was jam-packed week, but so much fun. I loved meeting new people and making new contacts, as well as talking to the public about what it really means to be a Peace Corps volunteer.

It was a wonderful way to reflect on my service, talking about so many different projects to so many groups of people. I talked about my village in Bukinda and my primary school, I spoke to youth groups about our Camp LION, I spoke to Girl Scouts about RUMPs (reusable menstrual pads) and I spoke to the public about Uganda's beautiful game parks and adventuring. It was a great way to look back at two years and reflect on not only on all the things I've learned, but all the ways I've changed.

Speaking (in French) on the radio at Voice of America. Our segment was broadcasted to over 170 million people across West Africa.

Meetings at the White House to talk about Peace Corps and our blogging experience

I think you can see my lip prints on the glass...

Speaking to the public at MLK Library about Uganda

Gaelle and me at my booth at MLK Library to show some things from Uganda

My future home

West Wing with Christine and Sara

Live from the West Wing!

At Powell Elementary School, teaching the kids our local handshake

Powell School: demonstrating how we carry things

Powell School, balancing water on their heads!

Bronwen (Dominican Republic) had the kids make up a baseball game using household objects

My favorites: Keith and Ryan!

Camp LION and a Tidal Wave of Good News

Camp LION
(photos by Jim Tanton)

Well, my eye is still twitching from lack of sleep after directing Camp LION, if that's any indication of that week. I've now had two weeks to recover and catch up on sleep (and my blog), but my lower lashes are still twitching and I officially look like a crazy person.
Whew.
Camp LION (Leaders In Our Nation) is the first of its kind, directed by four PCVs and one Ugandan co-director. Eric, Matthew, Cindy, Immaculate and I wanted a leadership camp that emphasized and developed leadership skills for Ugandan youth. And that's exactly what we did.
Camp LION is a regional camp, meaning that our campers (both male and female, between the ages of 15-19) came from eastern Uganda, including Mbale, Soroti, Kumi, Tororo and Jinja district. A brief history of camps in Peace Corps Uganda: the typical model is to have a girls' camp (GLOW-Girls Leading Our World) and boys' camp (BUILD- Boys of Uganda In Leadership Development) operating simultaneously but separately during school break, and then coming together on the last day for Gender Equality Day. These camps usually focus on life skills, reproductive health, malaria, RUMPs (reusable menstrual pads) and HIV/AIDS awareness, but with relatively little emphasis on how to "take camp home" and affect others in their communities.
That's where our brainchild for Camp LION came in, to have sessions that focused on skills that make a leader, such as public speaking, goal setting, money management, as well as a big emphasis on community service. The highlight of our camp was an unprecedented activity: Volunteer Day. Matthew Raymond, my co-director, envisioned having our campers go out in the community and volunteer for the morning, such as planting trees, cleaning up rubbish and volunteering at a local hospital and an orphanage. Our first two days of camp were focused around sessions on leadership, IGAs (Income-Generating Activities) and reproductive health (from condom demonstrations to menstrual cycles to sexual health discussions). On Wednesday morning, we went out into the community and volunteered all morning.

Volunteer Day: tree-planting around Mbale

Volunteer Day: volunteering at Mbale Hospital Children's Ward

Our campers generated a lot of interest from the locals, who would stop and say, "What are you doing? What are you planting those trees for?" In some cases, some people decided to even join in. We were so excited by the notion that if this much interest in community service could be generated in one morning, imagine what these kids could do back home. That morning, I went with a group of campers to children's home for orphans and vulnerable children. We spent the morning playing games, reading books, doing arts and crafts and singing songs. I was so proud of our campers who really took initiative, bonded with the children and by the end were leading their own camp-style "Reflection" session with the kids.

Thursday was another block of sessions, and then Friday was our "Presentation Day." Campers were able to choose a topic from the week's sessions and come up with an "elevator speech" to pitch to their communities. We wanted campers to feel prepared to go back to their communities and present a topic to the community leadership, such as the Parent-Teacher Association, the LC1 or community elders. After spending a week honing their leadership skills and doing community service, they were able to practice how to "take camp home" and pitch an idea to the community. For example, some campers, including males, enjoyed the session on how to make RUMPs (reusable menstrual pads). Many girls in Uganda (and elsewhere) miss a significant amount of school when they have their menstrual periods. The boys knew that while they couldn't use RUMPs for themselves, they were useful for sisters, friends, mothers and aunts. It is also an Income-Generating Activity to sew a pad from old fabric and sell it to the community, so they got to practice how they would "pitch" this idea to people back home.

Another innovation to our camp was the creation of a Counselor-In-Training (CIT) program. I had been a CIT back during my summer camp days, but it had never crossed my mind to do at a Ugandan youth leadership camp. Another one of Matthew's million-dollar ideas. We had three CITs in our program, all former campers and who were on their way to be counselors. Theresa, Semu and Brian were stellar CITs, always willing to help and interact with campers. They helped with logistics and got to shadow each camper group. The CIT program was great for another reason-- we had one of Ugandan counselors drop out during camp, and Brian was able to step in as a counselor.

As a note, I'm feeling very proud of our Peace Corps post during these last round of camps- as Volunteers, we put together three innovative camps unique to Uganda. Camp LION, Camp Omwani (an Ag camp focused on coffee production and facilitated by Bukonzo Joint) and Girl Tech (a science camp for girls).

In between sessions, we had a lot of fun. There was cheering, chanting, dancing within our eight camper groups. We had relay races, team-building activities, Afrikan yoga sessions with Ife, drumming circles, bonfires, and night art. Night Art is a great activity led by our three InMovement facilitators, where they have campers doing interactive creative art. That night we were all the in the dining hall, the tables were covered in cloth and markers, crayons, and paintbrushes were strewn across all the tables. We had music and dancing, while the campers and counselors were given prompts for what to draw. For example, I got to pose with two other counselors and the campers had to draw us in one minute. Jim went up with two other bearded men and they had to draw their beards. Another was to draw the person in front of you in 5 years, without looking down.

The last activity of Night Art, little did I know that my life was about to change. For all those who wanted to know the background of that night, here it is. Jim got called up to the center, and then I got called up too. Bagonza, the night's MC, asked us both to strike a pose. I did my best yoga Dancer Pose while Jim goes down on one knee. Hmmm, I thought. What kind of weird pose is he doing? Are we doing some sort of couples' pose, Dirty Dancing style?

It took me a full five seconds to realize what was happening and that Jim was proposing. He told me that he had already called my parents to ask for their blessing and then said those four magic words. I really don't remember the rest, I don't think I even said yes or remembered that there was some sort of ring involved. I just remember feeling so much love that night, as I looked around at all my friends crying, hugging us both and saying congratulations. I happened to be the only dry eyes in the room that night, I was just too excited! And then we had the most epic, monster dance party as we jumped about the room, everybody cheering us on. It was an incredible night. Not many camps witness a proposal--some of the campers didn't even believe it was real, and asked their counselors the next morning if we were reenacting a scene from a movie. Ha! In a place where love and marriage is very different than our culture, it was nice to have a scene of true love, an engagement and a healthy, loving relationship.

Jim and I met in here in the Peace Corps, as many of you know, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect to get engaged here. I can't imagine a more perfect way to begin our lives together.

And when it rains, it pours! One last piece of good news. Thanks to everyone's help, I am a winner for Peace Corps' Blog It Home contest and will be going to D.C. for a week of events in September. Thank you again to everyone for the votes and for passing it on. I will be sharing a bit about Uganda and life on this side of the world.

Ife leading a.m. warm-up Afrikan yoga session

Country Director Loucine visits Camp LION for the day and gets her groove on

Brainstorming: campers had 5 minutes to design and make
the tallest structure out of straws and masking tape

Eric "Fixer" Grayson jumping in on a session on HIV stigma

RELAY RACE! My favorite. 

Jenna helping to answer questions during a session on myths about HIV

Volunteer Day: reading to sick children at Mbale Hospital

Our Volunteer Day list of accomplishments

Sulai, a local businessman and community activist, talks to our campers about community service

Checking out the materials to make reusable menstrual pads (RUMPs)

Proper condom use demonstration

Bonfire and dancing. A lot of dancing.

Camp LION's ballin' team of directors.

Our Wall of Leaders for Camp LION's staff and counselors.
We each wrote our favorite leader who inspires us and why.

Immaculate and me, co-directors and co-goofballs.

Our t-shirts. Courtesy of yours truly.

Camp LION

Mandala-making.

Night Art

"Now draw with your neighbor's right hand" -- Night Art.

LIVE from Camp Lion!

Bagonza from InMovement warming up our staff

Reporting live from Camp LION! Things are buzzing right now from the Staff room at Grace Primary School where I am co-directing Camp LION (Leaders In Our Nation) in Mbale, in eastern Uganda.

Our camp is focused on developing leaders from neighboring communities in a week-long, jam-packed camp with sessions on community organizing, youth development, HIV/AIDS awareness, public speaking and the importance of volunteering. Peace Corps volunteers have been running youth leadership camp for girls (GLOW-Girls Leading Our World) and boys (BUILD- Boys of Uganda in Leadership Development) for years now, as a way of directing reaching out to youth and giving them a safe space to discuss issues like reproductive health, sex, condom demos and HIV, as well as developing their leadership, public speaking, and self-esteem skills. Our staff and camp counselors ranges from Peace Corps Volunteers to teachers at primary schools, youth and health workers and a few members from BPU. We are also working with InMovement, a youth organisation for social change through the arts. They're known for doing amazing youth work through dance, drama, circus, poetry and art.

Our InMovement facilitators (Ife, Bagonza, Mark and Tara) helped lead our staff training to prepare for a powerhouse week of camp. We discussed and practiced facilitation skills, how to engage youth in a meaningful way, gender-equitable practices and how to make camp FUN!
Tomorrow our campers arrive from Tororo, Mbale, Soroti, Kumi districts and our camp will officially kick off! The day I'm looking forward to most is our Volunteer Day on Wednesday, where our campers will go out and do community service work in Mbale, such as tree-planting, street sweeping, and volunteering at the local hospital and orphanage. I'll keep everyone posted!

As for Peace Corps' Blog It Home contest, tomorrow is the last day to vote on Facebook to help my blog win the contest! Send me to DC by going to this link, and Clicking "Like". Please share the photo as well and encourage your friends to vote. Thanks!

Ife, one of our InMovement facilitators, leading a session on Reflections

Teambuilding with our camp staff and counselors

Bagonza from InMovement!

Patrick, one of our staff members, here to teach conflict resolution

Practicing facilitation

Playing the game "Crazy Taxi"