Friday, February 21, 2014 - 0 comments

Retiro de Liderazgo

                                           

During the first week of February, I escorted 5 teens from rural communities of Nueva Segovia to the cold regions of Jinotega to participate in a youth leadership camp at Vida Joven (Young Life). The camp was started a couple of years ago by other PCVs with the topic of leadership and becoming leaders in their communities. It involved youth from all departments of Nicaragua, far and wide, and this year the PCV camp organizers decided to expand the camp to involve all Peace Corps sectors (Health, Environment, English and Entrepreneurship) and continue with the main theme of leadership.

All the PCV camp counselors with our fearless PC director and assistant

Alongside another Health volunteer from the group that's about to celebrate their one-year anniversary, we taught a 1.5 hour session of how to educate about HIV and teen pregnancy to the campers' peers. We went into the camp assuming (we assumed correctly!) that all the campers had a basic knowledge of what HIV and teenage pregnancy are, so we decided to educate them on how to present this information in a fun way; thru dinamicas. It was a fun, interactive presentation and I think the campers enjoyed themselves.

                                   
The "White Blood Cell" Dance: Explaining the process of HIV

                                                 
My co-counselor with one of our "juguetes"

Condom demonstration

When the campers weren't in the informational sessions, the counselors put on glow in the dark frisbee, a fogata (bonfire) in which we taught the kids how to make s'mores, basketball, volleyball, KICKball (good times!), football (the kind we play in the states) and a series of adventure games like climbing up a 15ft ladder and sliding down a pole, or doing a scavenger hunt at 6 in the morning, as well as having a dance night starting with a one-hour session of Zumba taught by a new volunteer and yours truly. (Nicas, including teenagers, regularly wake up between 4-5am every day; they were the ones waking the counselors up! It was rough, but I kinda wish that teens in the states were up and motivated at that hour!)
Photo scavenger hunt: the whole group laying down on the bleachers

PSH: The group with a kitchen lady

PSH: Looking "lost" at the entrance of the labyrinth

PSH: Creating a "human table"

PSH: The entire group touching the camp leader

PSH: Human pyramid

PSH: "Jailed" at the camp, with a guard

PSH: Playing Leapfrog on the baseball field

Second place!

                                                 
After teaching ZUMBA

Aside from being FREEZING (well, 46* F) with even colder showers, it was a great time and I think all the kids had a blast. I hope this project continues to thrive in the future!





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