Camp BE

Camp BE (Boys Excelling) is a camp that is put on by Peace Corps Volunteers all over the world, which targets secondary school males and teaches them about HIV/AIDS, career planning, communication, relationships, and life skills.  The volunteers in my region of Rwanda just completed our 5 day camp, and boy was it a tiring, yet extremely rewarding experience!  Most of the volunteers that I speak with about their service say that the youth camps are the highlights of their service and I am now able to say the same thing.  From the time we announced the students who were accepted to the moment they all left camp to return home, I was all smiles (from ear to ear) and bubbling over with excitement and joy at the impact that we were able to make in these boys' lives in such a short time.  Some of the highlights from the camp are noted below:

And the Winner Is...

Okay so there wasn't really a "winner" per se, but there was an application that the students had to fill out since so many boys were interested in attending the camp.  At the school in my community, I had the Headmaster pick out the school's top students and these 12 boys proceeded to fill out the application and hand it in.  Once I chose the 4 that I thought were the best, I went back up to the school to give the students their camp invitations.  Little did I know, the day that I happened to be going to the school to notify the students just so happened to be the last day before the holiday break.  On the last day of classes, the school holds a small awards ceremony where the brightest and best-behaved students are rewarded with notebooks, certificates, and new pens for being model students all year long.  It was cool that I just happened to want to notify the students on this day because the Headmaster ended up making the camp invitations a part of the awards ceremony.  He called each boy up to the front, one by one, and presented them with what I would like to think is the best news they've had all year!  An invitation to Camp BE!  I just loved watching the boys as their names were called and as they received their invitations; seeing them smile so bright just warmed my little heart (:

In a Nutshell

Okay there is soooo very much to tell about camp and as you can probably tell by now that I can go on and on and on...and on...when I'm telling a story, so I'll do my best to give the nutshell version of my fondest memories:

Affirmation Wall:

At the camp, we had a wall full of manila envelopes, each one labeled with a camper's name, and had the students place kind words and thoughts about one another in different envelopes each day.  For example, if one camper saw someone do something nice during the camp, they would write a small note (positive affirmation) and place it in the nice student's envelope.  I'm not sure who originally came up with the idea, but this was definitely one of my favorite parts of camp.  The boys were able to go and find nice things that other people had written about them every day for the entire week.  It helped us to create a positive, encouraging environment and all of the boys seemed to appreciate it.  The camp leaders (us, the volunteers) also had envelopes and I must say that the messages inside nearly brought me to tears.  As volunteers in a foreign country with no set job description or duties, it can be easy to wonder what we're doing here and what kind of a difference we are actually making, but reading those affirmations really helped me to reaffirm why I'm here.  I ended up bringing all of the messages that were written to me home so that whenever I'm having a rough day, I can pull them out and be reminded that I am making a difference in some way.

Some of the notes also made me laugh.  They ranged from, "Keza you are beautiful girl and I love you for what you doing in the Camp BE.  Thank you so much.  I am happy to meet you."  to "Keza, hey baby.  I love you so much.  I love your smile and the way you move.  Please can I have your phone number?"  haha! Gotta love these kids!

Be My Sister:

One little high schooler was the sweetest.  During dinner one night, he asked if he could have a moment of my time to interview me when everyone was finished eating.  I told him okay and after dinner, he proceeded to ask me questions about my family, why I am in Rwanda, and what I like about Rwanda.  The interview went without a hitch, and to my surprise all of his questions were actually appropriate.  The very next day, this same boy pulled me aside and said, "Keza, do you remember you told me that you love Rwanda?"  "Yes" I said.  He replied, "I want to give you a memory so you will always remember this country, even when you leave."  He then proceeded to take a small pin from his shirt of the Rwandan flag and hand it to me.  "Here, now you will never forget this country.  Can I ask you something?"  "Yes"  "Can I call you my sister?  I want to be your brother."  I smiled at his sweet gesture and told him, "Yes, we can be brother and sister."  So for the rest of the time at camp, each time he saw me, he would say, "Hi sister!"  and I would respond, "Hi brother."  lol it was cute!  And I must have gotten a million messages from him in my affirmation envelope saying how happy he is to  by my brother and how he will never forget his big sister; his notes just warmed my heart (:

SN: When the little boy handed me the flag pin of Rwanda, I thought it looked a little funny, but I didn't pay it much attention.  When I wore it to work, I noticed all of the nurses were looking at it for a little longer than I thought was necessary.  When I took the pin off of my sweater to examine it a little closer, I flipped it over and read the words PAKISTAN.  I'm not sure if the little boy gave me a flag of Pakistan or if the colors were a little off because it was made in Pakistan, but either way, the little keepsake that my "brother" gave to me wasn't quite from the right country o_O but it was a nice gesture

30 Year Old Secondary Student

I think there was one student from camp who inspired me the most and it was the one who was, yes, 30 years old.  I'm not sure he really knew what to expect in coming to the camp because when he first walked in, he stopped, looked around, and said aloud, "I'm the oldest one here."  We assured him that his age wouldn't be a problem and then a few days into the camp, I had the chance to talk with him and he informed me of why he was still in secondary school.  He is an only child and was separated from his parents during the genocide.  His father was killed and for many years, he didn't know if his mother was dead or alive.  He didn't have a family to support him or to pay his school fees so he was forced to drop out and find his own way to make it through life.  As it turns out, he was reunited with his mother a few years back and his life slowly began to make sense again.  After all that he had been through and in lieu of having a successful future, he took a very brave step and decided at 30 years old, to enroll in secondary school so that he can finish and proceed on to college.  This man is a walking testimony and proof that it is never too late.  It takes a lot of courage for someone, a 30 year old, to swallow his pride and go back to high school and he's doing just that.  Whoever thought that an age number could limit someone's ability to finish school was wrong...age ain't nothing but a number.

Burning of the Barriers and SMORES!

This was by far the most powerful experience in the entire camp.  The entire week of camp was filled with positive statements and actions toward the boys.  We told them over and over, yes you can, nothing is too hard, nothing is impossible, you can do all things; and on the last night of camp, we all sat around a fire while the boys wrote down barriers in their lives and anything that they have been told that they would never be able to do.  As they finished writing their barriers, they announced them aloud and then proceeded to crumple their papers and throw them into the fire.  It was such a beautiful experience seeing the boys take their fears and doubts and toss them away.  They cried, laughed, and some even remained silent, but you could tell from their demeanor after this activity that their greatest burdens had been lifted.  These boys grew so much in such a short time and I am so happy that I was able to be a part of that.  If I don't do anything else for the rest of my two years, I would still leave knowing that I made a difference.  Hearing these boys tell themselves and each other, "Yes we can" is all the difference I needed to make--most of them had never been told those three sweet words--"Yes you can!"  And in just 5 short days, they have learned that that can; and I know that they will!

In order to lighten the mood a bit after the powerful burning of the barriers, we had the boys sit around the fire with sticks and marshmallows to make their very first smores.  They had never heard of this yummy treat before so it was tons of fun watching them try it out for the very first time.  The barriers part of the night was rather intense, but the smores helped to cool everything down so that everyone could go to bed with smiles on their faces...complemented by cheeks smudged with melted marshmallow goo (:

Love and Peace Corps,

Dametreea

P.S.

Photos and videos will be posted in the Facebook gallery as soon as I get to a reliable internet connection