At Camp GLOW, More than Just the Learners Learn

Camp GLOW unites 80 learners from around the country and from diverse cultural backgrounds for a week of fun and education in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. But students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the Camp GLOW experience.

Peace Corps Volunteers train 20 out-of-school youth and place them in a position of leadership as Camp GLOW facilitators. These 18 to 35 year-olds often walk away having learned as much about teamwork, tolerance and diversity as the campers they are charged with.

In 2008, one of the youngest facilitators, a 19-year-old named Speechless, also turned out to be one of the most enthusiastic. Here’s what he had to say about his time at Camp GLOW:

Camp GLOW was a fun and educational experience—not only for learners, but also for us as facilitators. Camp GLOW is something useful to us. The best part about it is that it contains facilitators and learners from all parts of the country.

We learned to change some of our cultural stereotypes. We also learned each other’s cultural backgrounds and that we concentrate too much on gender. Camp GLOW brought in the idea of sharing work that our parents did not teach us about. We were always treated differently because of our gender. For example, I never had to do as much work because I am a boy.

I’m truly convinced that Camp GLOW is changing our lifestyles. I hope that it will continue to grow in the future. It is with these few words that I say Let us not stop ‘til we GLOW enough!

Speechless with last year's Camp GLOW co-chair and a fellow facilitator