my peace of the pie: Boys Leadership Camp

Vision and Goals of BLC:

Since youth living in the interior of Suriname receive little encouragement to continue studies and face difficult obstacles in gaining education beyond the sixth grade, the BLC intends to encourage boys to further their education, expand their view of workforce opportunities, and take positive leadership role within their communities.

Also, youth face additional pressures to engage in sex at a young age. Yet, they receive little to no life skills based education in order to protect themselves and their loved ones from HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, and teenage pregnancy. The Boys Leadership Camp will focus on providing the boys with information to protect and empower themselves to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Additional topics addressed through the various sessions and activities ate the BLC include: environmental awareness, drugs and alcohol abuse, leadership, career opportunities, and goal setting. The central theme imparted throughout the camp aims to encourage the boys to make good decisions and actively seek a better future for themselves and their communities.

Returned campers will sustain the camp's goals and benefits by spreading their empowerment and education in the areas of environment, drugs and alcohol, HIV/AIDS, careers, goal setting, and leadership amongst their peers through their school presentations and community service project.

On December 2nd thirty boys gathered at Tio Boto Ecolodge for 3 days of camp, lessons, and fun! I was so excited for all that they were going to learn and do. Peace Corps Volunteers have previously held a few camps for girls on the Suriname river, but this was the first for boys. Saramaccan culture can seem very male-dominated at a glance, but I think a leadership camp is just as important (if not more important) for the boys in the culture as it is for the girls.

The boys arrived Friday afternnoon, and after check-in and going over the rules, we played icebreakers and tie dyed t-shirts. Kyle and Jonathan led a lesson on the importance of taking care of the environment and the boys decorated reusable water bottles.

Saturday consisted of waking up to a workout and breakfast before starting lessons for the day. The boys attended lessons on drugs and alcohol and HIV/AIDS. I helped Harvey, a man from the city, facilitate the lesson on HIV/AIDS. It felt good to help facilitate a lesson in another language. I was pretty proud of myself. Harvey talked to them about preventing HIV/AIDS, what the letters stand for, and what the disease does to your body. After his talk I led a couple of games based on the information he gave them. We played a condom game race similar to musical chairs. The boys passed around condoms. If the music stopped on them they had to break the blown up condom and answer the question inside. We also passed around pictures from our HIV/AIDS visual toolkit, and the boys had to explain why someone could or could not catch HIV from the situation in the picture. After lessons and lunch on Saturday, a women's group from Masia came to perform a skit in which the stress the importance of guarding oneself agains HIV. The boys spent the afternoon playing soccer and making instruments out of recycled materials to use later in the camp. The night wrapped up with Harvey giving his testimony and talking to the boys about his living with HIV and the decisions he should have made differently.

Sunday the boys had lessons on goal setting and leadership. They played soccer again that afternoon, and we ended Sunday night with a bonfire ceremony, smores, and a battle of the bands using the instruments they made on Saturday. They were divided into four groups. Each group had to play their instruments and sing a song they wrote about one of the four lessons they attended. It was so much fun listening to all of them sing their songs and play their homemade instruments. After the battle of the bands the boys were able to stand up (if they wanted to) and talk about what they had learned that weekend. We sat around the fire while those who wanted to stood up and said thank you to all of the leaders and talked about the lessons they would take back to their villages. I have to admit I got emotional. I was so moved by the things they were saying, and was so excited and happy for all that they learned over those few days. I felt like I watched them grow up a little that weekend. For a few minutes I sat there thinking of my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer and being in this small country. There I was sitting around a bonfire at the end of a really fun weekend with thirty boys that would not have happened without the Volunteers in this country. I got to be a part of a change in the lives of those kids. I know that. What a cool feeling. The cooler feeling is the fact that they changed mine and they have no idea.

Before the boys left on Monday, we held a certificate ceremony and played capture the flag with them. After playing capture the flag, the boys huddled up for one last cheer. Before they finished the cheer, we Volunteers attacked them with water balloons. It was awesome.

What a great weekend for those boys, and what a great weekend to be a part of. I am so thankful for all the hard work and energy that went into hosting it. I am so thankful for the boys that came for being so involved. I am most thankful for all that they learned.