I recently returned from a weeklong girls’ camp for 40
middle-school girls. This was an amazing
opportunity for talented, motivated girls from across the Kaolack, Fatick, and
Kaffrine regions to meet others with a similar passion for learning, a rare
sight within most of their villages. It
also allowed them time to have fun and relax, another rare event within their
communities. Most of these girls return
home from school to cook, clean, care for children, work in the fields, and
perform other duties while still finding some time to study for their
classes. These girls are incredibly
dedicated to school with goals to earn a university education; become doctors,
journalists, NGO workers, and much more; and refrain from marriage until
completing a degree.
Every day of the camp (which was run by Peace Corps
volunteers with the help of several Senegalese women mentors) had a different
theme: identity, health, environment, gender, and careers. These themes allowed the girls to explore and
learn about topics in a fun, interactive environment. They were able to develop an idea of
themselves and how they fit into their communities. Additionally, we began each day with
leadership activities, which my friend and I led; these were fun, team-building
games that I’d learned from Outdoor Ed and Nature’s Classroom, and the girls
had a blast untangling themselves from the human knot, passing a bucket of
water around with their feet, and hugging trees blindfolded which they later
had to identify.
On health day, they learned about family planning and female
hygiene. Imagine a group of 15-year-olds
receiving their first sex ed and birds-and-the-bees conversation. I learned many of these details beginning in
5th grade from parents, friends, and school, but these topics are
taboo here. No one explains to them
their bodily changes when they hit puberty or where babies come from. Everything teenagers know is from rumors, and
they never find out the truth about their bodies. It is often not until their wedding night
that most girls learn what sex is, and even then it is often performed in the
dark and forced upon them by their husbands.
I have had women with several children come ask me to explain male
anatomy because their husbands direct all activities in the middle-of-the-night
while they lie completely still. Thus,
the fact that we provided these girls with information regarding sexual health
and puberty was completely radical in this country. Their mouths were literally dropping with
surprise as we explained female anatomy, they tried not to giggle as we
explained safe sex practices, and their eyes shut with horror as we showed
pictures of STI symptoms. We were trying
to prepare them for their futures, to explain their options, make them aware of
normal behavior, and empower them to make smart decisions with men. We ended the day with a skit portraying an
ambitious, intelligent teenager pursued by a male classmate who offered the
girl money. The girl was tempted to bring
money home to her mom who works really hard, though she didn’t want to drop out
of school. (Relationships often lead to marriage
that inevitably leads to pregnancy soon afterward.) The girls were asked what they would do if
placed in that position. Immediately, a
girl shot up her hand to announce that she’d continue studying and tell the boy
that he should do the same and not pressure her for sex; if he really loved her
as he said, he’d value her education.
The other girls screamed and clapped with approval.
On environment day, we rented two boats took them on a trip
to an island. This was all but one of
their first time on a boat. (The one
girl lives on an island; coming to the camp was her first time in a car.) They loved the ride, the beauty of the
mangos, and the opportunity to shout taunting shouts to the other boat. The girls were so creative with their chants,
creating songs about the camp, their new friends, and their activities. One particular catchy song declared, “Colonie
dafa neex!” (Camp is fun!) The boat ride went really well, until the way
back when, in the pouring rain, one of the engines cut out. My boat, far ahead of the other boat, turned
to see the driver of the other boat standing up, waving his shirt in the air
for us to come help him. We ended up
towing his boat back to camp; the one-hour trip doubled in time, but the girls
were content to be smashed in the boat joking with each other.
On gender day, we taught them that women can have
power. They should stand up for
themselves and not let their gender limit them in any way. We brought in Senegalese men to speak about
healthy relationships and sharing domestic responsibilities. The girls were amazed that these options
exist. They had never considered that men
could help take care of their children or that they had the right to refuse
being beaten by their husbands. The
Senegalese men taught them strategies to resist relationships that gave the men
all the power, and the girls took notes as they explained how they treat their
partners. We Peace Corps volunteers
couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the tough line these girls would
rightfully expect of their boyfriends and husbands.
On career day, we encouraged them to pursue their field of
interest and to plan out how to achieve this.
We explained the importance of planning for the future. Mostly, we wanted them to see that there are
many girls in Senegal with similar hopes for studies and careers; they should
resist their communities’ pressures to marry early, work, and drop out of
school. The whole week had served to
empower them to stand up for their rights, and this was the closure; they have
the ability to achieve whatever they put their minds to. This final night, we held a talent show. It was the chance for the girls to show off
their gymnastics, dancing, singing, and public speech. At the end, “invisible friends” were revealed. On Monday, each girl had been assigned another
girl to compliment and treat with respect without betraying their identity. Now, on Friday, one girl was called
forward. One of the Senegalese mentors
began a song about searching for her invisible friend. While she sang, the invisible friend jumped
up, dancing over to the girl, and they danced around hugging each other a bit,
before the first girl sat down, and the remaining girl waited for her invisible
friend to appear. It was so nice to see
how close these girls had become over the week.
Watching the girls embrace and dance with their new friends who shared
so much in common with them was beautiful.
But all wonderful things must come to an end. On Saturday, the girls all piled on busses
the campement for home. The girls were literally
bawling and had been in such a state since the previous night. They had felt so accepted here among other
motivated, intelligent girls. One girl
explained that she was nervous to go home where all her peers and even adults
taunted her for studying. We drove the
girls to Kaolack, and then we all separated to return to our separate
villages. I waited in public transport
with the two girls I had brought.
Several young men came up to them and said they loved them, a normal
occurrence here. But, unlike on the way
here when they’d simply ignored the comments, my two girls turned to them and
said that they’d just come back from a vacation to learn and studying was their
sole interest now. They then asked the
young men why they weren’t in school and went so far as to scold them for
dropping out early and pursuing their education. I sat next to them with a huge grin on my
face. The camp’s mission had been
accomplished.
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