Of all projects that I have taken on in my two year stint here in Zambia, none have compared to Camp Elite.
A quick and dirty - Camp Elite is an all boys youth empowerment camp in which each province decides to host boys and community mentors in a camp environment. We choose PCV's who then choose 2 boys and 1 counterpart from their village to come to a venue (boarding school) and learn, participate, play and compete in camp related activities. In a nutshell - summer camp.
I attended the previous year's camp as a participant, and it easily became one of my favorite side projects. After it was all said and done, I volunteered for the lead coordinator position for the following year (this year). And since nobody wanted to take on the role, I easily assumed it.
Planning a camp with 15 volunteers, 15 counterparts and 30 kids is an immense amount of work. So many details and intricate planning go into the final product. I think I began planning back in September for a camp that wouldn't commence until April. It was funded entirely through a USAID grant and all costs and budget details were required to be accounted for months before the camp was to begin. We had to predict how much everything would cost, and any slip up, or over looked expenditure would result in money out of our own pockets. Tee shirts had to be ordered and designed (which I did myself - and I was quite pleased with), food for +60 had to be planned out for 5 days and 4 nights, room and board - including bedding which had to be purchased, a quality venue that could house the type of activities we wished to perform, and transportation for everyone including community organizations that were invited to attend. All this is just barely scrapping the surface of what had to be brought into consideration. It was naturally a stressful build up unto the actual event that haunted my sleepless nights and every waking thought months prior.
I mirrored the camp in virtually the same format as the previous year. Of course there were changes that were made to improve the camp, but the camp the previous year - even though it was the first one in our province, was a great success.
We divided the kids, counterparts and PCV's into teams just like last year, but this year we had a sort of 'tryout' in which a few PCV's responsible, would go around and assess each kid's physical attributes. Based on this, we did our best in dividing the teams fairly. Last year we had a random draw for teams and the result was one team with the majority of counterparts and older kids. It was unfair and we wanted to avoid that.
The first day was a bit unsteady as the facility had issues with lighting and locating keys for the boys dormitories. Bathrooms and water were also inconsistent and filthy the first day and we had to do our best to remain patient and understanding with the staff and facilities shortcomings. Our patience paid off immediately after the first day and in the words of our original camp coordinator, Chirs Boyer, who ran the coordination of the camp the previous year and was in attendance for this camp as a community organization spokesman - 'we caught our stride'.
Things began to come together and we found a rhythm that would not be suede by hiccups that came in the scheduling as the camp progressed - such as community organizations not showing up or activities and sports that went over scheduled time. We did what PCV's do best - adapt and improvise and in each instance when an obstacle would come our way, we overcame.
The schedule was grueling - we were up at 7 a.m. and didn't retire until 10 and 11 p.m. some nights. On more then one occasion we were late to lunch and dinner and most presentations had to shave time off in order to accommodate the extensive variety of subjects and activities I wished to include. We had a volleyball tournament, kickball game, dodge ball match, scavenger hunt, relay race, soccer tournament, capture the flag game, water balloon fight, nightly board games & movies. We learned about male circumcision, proper condom use, gender equality, environmental conservation, how to be a successful man, business ethics, goal setting, fish farming, nutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS. We even had a few colleges in the area come out to give the kids some exposure. It was a well rounded curriculum and the kids got a rich, mixed variety of subjects to learn about.
When the camp was all said and done, it was obvious that we all had put everything we had into the camp. PCV's were tired, cranky and exhausted - but the pride in knowing that we had just empowered and potentially diverted the lives of many of the participants was encouragement enough to keep us smiling and pushing on. The final days were bittersweet. It was good to know that we ran a successful camp and that we would finally be able to get some rest in the village - but sad to see everyone go. Especially when every kid that I spoke with hardly wanted to leave. Most begged me to continue the camp for days, weeks and even months longer - which brought quite the smile and warm feeling into my heart.
As the type of person who is his own biggest critic, I can comfortably say that there was little I could have done, regarding the planning aspect, better. If I could do it all over again I would have a hard time making the camp more successful then what it had amounted too. Feedback from everyone - PCV's, counterparts and kid was all positive and even those that had their doubts to begin with admitted that Camp Elite was a great success, far better then what they had initially predicted.
Looking back I cant help but feel proud of all the effort and time I devoted to this camp. It has easily been the hardest I've ever worked in my life and decompressing when it was all said and done took nearly a week of solitude in the village. As a career path, I could possibly see myself in the camp director position - I got a lot of satisfaction out of it and wouldn't mind taking on the role again - though I have a hard time understanding how some camps can last for weeks on end.
With the camp now behind me and all the planning and anticipation done, I can't help but feel a bit empty and lost without the anticipation on my shoulders. In the future, but not as the coordinator, is camp GLOW, a women's empowerment camp that takes on all the same issues a bit more tailored to female empowerment. It will be nice to not be in the driver seat for this one, but I will take a sympathetic standpoint towards the one who is.
I attended the previous year's camp as a participant, and it easily became one of my favorite side projects. After it was all said and done, I volunteered for the lead coordinator position for the following year (this year). And since nobody wanted to take on the role, I easily assumed it.
Planning a camp with 15 volunteers, 15 counterparts and 30 kids is an immense amount of work. So many details and intricate planning go into the final product. I think I began planning back in September for a camp that wouldn't commence until April. It was funded entirely through a USAID grant and all costs and budget details were required to be accounted for months before the camp was to begin. We had to predict how much everything would cost, and any slip up, or over looked expenditure would result in money out of our own pockets. Tee shirts had to be ordered and designed (which I did myself - and I was quite pleased with), food for +60 had to be planned out for 5 days and 4 nights, room and board - including bedding which had to be purchased, a quality venue that could house the type of activities we wished to perform, and transportation for everyone including community organizations that were invited to attend. All this is just barely scrapping the surface of what had to be brought into consideration. It was naturally a stressful build up unto the actual event that haunted my sleepless nights and every waking thought months prior.
I mirrored the camp in virtually the same format as the previous year. Of course there were changes that were made to improve the camp, but the camp the previous year - even though it was the first one in our province, was a great success.
We divided the kids, counterparts and PCV's into teams just like last year, but this year we had a sort of 'tryout' in which a few PCV's responsible, would go around and assess each kid's physical attributes. Based on this, we did our best in dividing the teams fairly. Last year we had a random draw for teams and the result was one team with the majority of counterparts and older kids. It was unfair and we wanted to avoid that.
The first day was a bit unsteady as the facility had issues with lighting and locating keys for the boys dormitories. Bathrooms and water were also inconsistent and filthy the first day and we had to do our best to remain patient and understanding with the staff and facilities shortcomings. Our patience paid off immediately after the first day and in the words of our original camp coordinator, Chirs Boyer, who ran the coordination of the camp the previous year and was in attendance for this camp as a community organization spokesman - 'we caught our stride'.
Things began to come together and we found a rhythm that would not be suede by hiccups that came in the scheduling as the camp progressed - such as community organizations not showing up or activities and sports that went over scheduled time. We did what PCV's do best - adapt and improvise and in each instance when an obstacle would come our way, we overcame.
The schedule was grueling - we were up at 7 a.m. and didn't retire until 10 and 11 p.m. some nights. On more then one occasion we were late to lunch and dinner and most presentations had to shave time off in order to accommodate the extensive variety of subjects and activities I wished to include. We had a volleyball tournament, kickball game, dodge ball match, scavenger hunt, relay race, soccer tournament, capture the flag game, water balloon fight, nightly board games & movies. We learned about male circumcision, proper condom use, gender equality, environmental conservation, how to be a successful man, business ethics, goal setting, fish farming, nutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS. We even had a few colleges in the area come out to give the kids some exposure. It was a well rounded curriculum and the kids got a rich, mixed variety of subjects to learn about.
When the camp was all said and done, it was obvious that we all had put everything we had into the camp. PCV's were tired, cranky and exhausted - but the pride in knowing that we had just empowered and potentially diverted the lives of many of the participants was encouragement enough to keep us smiling and pushing on. The final days were bittersweet. It was good to know that we ran a successful camp and that we would finally be able to get some rest in the village - but sad to see everyone go. Especially when every kid that I spoke with hardly wanted to leave. Most begged me to continue the camp for days, weeks and even months longer - which brought quite the smile and warm feeling into my heart.
As the type of person who is his own biggest critic, I can comfortably say that there was little I could have done, regarding the planning aspect, better. If I could do it all over again I would have a hard time making the camp more successful then what it had amounted too. Feedback from everyone - PCV's, counterparts and kid was all positive and even those that had their doubts to begin with admitted that Camp Elite was a great success, far better then what they had initially predicted.
Looking back I cant help but feel proud of all the effort and time I devoted to this camp. It has easily been the hardest I've ever worked in my life and decompressing when it was all said and done took nearly a week of solitude in the village. As a career path, I could possibly see myself in the camp director position - I got a lot of satisfaction out of it and wouldn't mind taking on the role again - though I have a hard time understanding how some camps can last for weeks on end.
With the camp now behind me and all the planning and anticipation done, I can't help but feel a bit empty and lost without the anticipation on my shoulders. In the future, but not as the coordinator, is camp GLOW, a women's empowerment camp that takes on all the same issues a bit more tailored to female empowerment. It will be nice to not be in the driver seat for this one, but I will take a sympathetic standpoint towards the one who is.
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