Girls Camp!

Hello everyone,

Last week was a big week here in northern Benin. Eight other volunteers and I successfully ran a 5 day girls camp for secondary school students in the Alibori, our state. Our camp coordinator had o leave Benin two weeks before the camp for medical reasons, so we were all nervous about how things were going to go. I’m happy to say there were no train wrecks, no sessions that came grinding to a halt, no fights between volunteers or campers. We did have one camper who spiked a high fever on the second day of camp. We all agreed that the fact that she cried and asked not to be sent home was, if unfortunate, a sign that the girls were enjoying the camp!

I got to lead the craft session. Even though they weren’t the most important things the girls learned (I have to hand it to volunteers who led sessions on everything from study skills, to AIDS, to harassment) I think the craft sessions were some of the most well received. It’s always nice to get a break from listening and make something. We made friendship bracelets, origami, and recycled plastic bag purses. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Reagan, taught one of the origami hats we made to me. I took a moment to appreciate the strangeness that an American school teacher taught her second graders a Japanese craft and one of those students grew up to teach that to Beninese teenage girls. Funny world isn’t it?

All in all, the girls were very attentive and seemed very happy throughout the camp.

After the camp we got to do a test run for possible future Malaria bike tour. The idea is that we would bike to nearby towns and villages going house to house to point out mosquito breading sites, help put up existing mosquito nets, and generally gather information. Travel logistics and a midafternoon thunderstorm made for a little bit of a headache, but my group was able to visit 6 different concessions, or housing compounds. Personally, I found the work to be very practical and exciting. We got to set up one mosquito net for a woman who had one, and I really felt good about the idea that, without giving any gifts or money, we were helping encourage someone to protect themselves against malaria. It makes me look forward to the bike tour, whenever that comes to pass.

Those are the big updates for now. I hope you all have a good fourth. I am thinking especially of the Pittsburgh Mawes, and hoping you all have an excellent luau. You all are in my thoughts.

Thanks for reading, all.

With love,

Lauren