Camp Glow (Girls Leading Our World)

Participating in Camp GLOW is often a life changing experience for both the adult organizers and the teen-age campers. It also develops community leaders and builds cross-cultural bridges. As one camper said in her evaluation of the camp, "I've learned to be more open, to establish my goals, to work as a team, and to trust myself." Camp GLOW falls within the Congressional mandate that "the Peace Corps shall be administered so as to give particular attention to those programs, projects and activities which tend to integrate women into the national economies of developing countries, thus improving their status and assisting in the total development effort." Camp GLOW meets this mandate by providing a forum for girls to share, grow, and develop skills in a variety of areas that allow them to take a leadership role in their own lives. Each Camp GLOW reflects the unique characteristics and diversity of its local community. Drawing on the skills and talents of the organizers and the participants, as well as local needs and resources, many innovative adaptations of Camp GLOW have taken place. In this way Camp GLOW has been effective in promoting awareness among girls of other issues important to their lives and their communities. Here are just two examples: * In the Philippines Volunteers and host-country nationals focused their camp on the interconnectedness of women and the environment. * In Madagascar Camp GLOW served as a foundation for a peer education project to teach high school students about the transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS.