Sunday, April 13, 2014

PCV Project Donations

Peace Corps Volunteers all around the world would love your donations to help with community projects. Everything from camps, to new school buildings, to wells and latrines, there is a PCV somewhere trying to make it happen.

Peace Corps Volunteers do funded projects that rely on outside grant money (ie USAID), fund-raised money (Gender and Equality), special country specific donations (Kate Puzey Memorial Fund), and the ever so popular PCPP (where we post online and beg you for money – read on). We are not allowed to fund our own projects with personal money.

If you are wondering why this is the first time you are hearing of this on my blog, it is because I personally have  not chosen to do a large funded project in my community (there are arguments both for and against doing funded projects). I am however, hoping to help out with and bring girls to our local Camp GLOW, which is currently looking for funding. Camp GLOW (girls leading our world) is a annual PCV organized girls camp that is held for a week during the summer break.


"Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is a weeklong girls' empowerment camp that has been organized annually nationwide since 2003. The camp brings together Beninese girls (ages 12-16), influential women within the community, and Peace Corps Volunteers. Throughout the week, the girls learn a variety of life skills to help them become better leaders and students in their communities. Topics covered include: personal financial planning, sexual health and hygiene, computer literacy, goal-setting, HIV/AIDS awareness, study and leadership skills, malaria prevention, and games to encourage cooperation among the girls. Girls also take excursions to national government institutions, in addition to meeting successful Beninese women in various professional roles. The camp's primary objective is to encourage girls to stay in school. Beninese women and men lead the camp sessions and facilitate discussions. Volunteers invite prominent women from their communities to serve as camp counselors. These women serve as role models for the girls. 
During the week, girls design strategies for sharing information learned at the camp with their communities and become leaders in their villages, schools, and families. At the end of the camp, the girls complete action plans and are given a "toolkit" for planning and executing a mini version of Camp GLOW in their communities. The communities are contributing by providing transportation of the girls to and from camp. While Camp GLOW provides these girls useful skills with which to become leaders, it also provides the opportunity to forge relationships with like-minded young women and female role models."

I know that if you are my facebook friend, you have already heard it. For the rest of you, I just want to say that hosting Camps is one of the best things (in my opinion) that PCVs are able to do for their host country. No matter the subject (we also have boys camps, business camps and environmental camps - to name a few) it is an opportunity to bring children together from different parts of the country, allow them to meet HCN role models, and talk to the children about the importance of staying in school, various health issues, and help them become role models in their community among their peers.

Even if you are not interested in donating to help out a camp, there are many other PCVs world wide currently looking for project donations in all sectors of Peace Corps work that can be found here. All of these projects are being run by amazing, hard working people (especially the Benin volunteers) who are working to better the lives of others, and as cultural ambassadors for you! :)

Click HERE if you would like to donate to camp glow. Project Funded!!! Thank YOU!!!
Click HERE to see all current PCV projects looking for donations.

FYI donations are tax deductible. 

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