Camp Deporte y Vida!

Sorry I've been so MIA lately. I got a little busy with the holiday season and then the final stages of planning for Camp Deporte y Vida! (Formerly named Camp Caballero) But, it all came together in the end and it was amazing!

Last week 33 youth from all over the country came together at Tierra Prometida in Carapegua, Paraguay for a 4-day male sports and leadership camp.

All together there were 59 youth and volunteers involved in the camp!

The initial idea of the camp was a leadership camp for young men, to teach them values, planning for the future and by doing so making them a part of the gender equality discussion. We also made it a sports camp because we wanted them to have fun as well and show them that the same values that are important on the playing field are also important in your everyday life. We achieved this through a number of sports activities, because we also wanted to introduce them to new sports that they don't get to play normally. Soccer and volleyball are the two main sports played here in Paraguay, so we taught them to play American Football, Tae Kwon Do, Wiffleball and Kickball a well. There were also a number of informational sessions on subjects that ranged from, diversity, women's rights, planning for the future, sexual health and domestic violence.

Wiffleball!

Tae Kwon Do!

We had people from the NGO - Centro Para el Desarrollo de la Inteligenci (Center for the Development of Intelligence) come and teach the soccer segment of the camp

CDI has a program called "Partidi" that teaches young men and women good values through soccer. So they were a perfect addition to our camp!

We also had a "Professional Men's Panel" that included 3 men from CDI and one of the doctors from Peace Corp. They all talked about their individual journey to success.

Working on an activity called "Interview with myself in 10 years" it helped the boys think about what they envision their life to be in the future.

American Football!

Session on Domestic Violence. This is a topic that is not really talked about in this culture but is definitely a problem. He touched issues like self-esteem, machismo and healthy relationships.

A talk about women's rights with 2 people from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Women. This was an amazing moment seeing all these young men so interested in this subject, something most of them have never talked about before.

I was so impressed with the young men who attended this camp. They were all so involved in both the physical activities and the sessions. They all have such bright futures ahead of them and I hope this camp helped them realize their potential.

Also, thank you to all the people who donated to this project and made Camp Deporte y Vida! such a success! We couldn't have done this without your support.

Camp Caballero!

In Peace Corps a lot of your work is done with children ... they are the future. (Corny, but true.) In Paraguay youth under the age of 25 make up almost half of the population. In development work worldwide a lot of time is focused on educating and empowering female youth, and trust me I agree this is important, it is something I work on every day of my service. 

Women in every country are taught growing up to be careful. We are taught not to walk alone at night. We are taught not to dress too provocatively so as not to attract unwanted sexual attention. We are taught to always keep an eye on our open drinks at bars. There are even classes designed specifically for women to defend themselves. And of this things are great, I think its important for girls to be aware of the world we live in.

But, there is another side to this. Our young men need to be taught as well, they need to be taught the values and morals to make them grow up to be responsible adults. To grow up to be men that will be leaders in their communities and can inspire other young adults as well. 

Spurring off these ideas Peace Corps Paraguay is planning their first annual national boys leadership and life skills camp, Camp Caballero (Camp Gentleman). The camp is designed as an all-male camp that would teach values through sports, a popular activity for Paraguayan male youth, in order to better attract participants and maintain their focus. By having a camp solely for young men we can address issues that are gender and age specific and teach our lessons in a way that is specially geared towards them in hopes of making the greatest impact. For example, we will teach gender equality by having male AND female coaches for sports activities. Also, we will have respectable, successful, Paraguayan me give presentations on gender equality and prevention of domestic violence. In addition to gender equality and sexual health awareness, the participants will work to develop the values of responsibility, respect and planning for the future during our structured sports sessions and other camp activities.

This project is especially dear to my heart, I am on the planning committee. Any amount of money you could donate could help make this camp a success!

Please Donate - Camp Caballero!