Boys Camp Progress Report

The effort to create a camp whose goal is to educate young men on gender issues and promote gender equality is well under way.  In this post you'll find information about how the boys' camp is drawing from Camp GLOW precedents while finding its own way in securing a place to hold the camp, collaborating with Nicaraguan counterparts, getting funding, and structuring activities. 

Near the end, you'll also find a list of links of materials being used to guide the content of camp. Check it out!

"The summative labor of the camp was broken down into smaller tasks to be undertaken by voluntary parties and individuals. 

Two volunteers are working on an application for funds.  It was uniformly decided that the Peace Corps Partnership Program would be our best option for securing monetary support.  Our volunteers are racing the clock to get the application completed, edited, and submitted before the winter holiday period.  The application brings under scrutiny the background of gender inequality in Nicaragua, the vision, goals and objectives of the camp, schemes for monitoring and evaluation, statements of community participation and contribution, and also attempts at making this camp a repeatable event. 

The camp needs a home, so we set one volunteer to the task of identifying and comparing various “camp-sites”.  Happily, due to the large number of resort-style accommodations around the country, and the large number of camps hosted by the Peace Corps, quotes and comparisons will not be hard to come by.  The sister camp to this effort, Camp GLOW, will have taken place for three years running in Vida Joven Jinotega, a coffee plantation and recreation center tailored to a camp-like setting.  The track, kickball field, covered sporting court, small lake, hedge-labyrinth, two conference centers, and lack of cell phone access has made Vida Joven ideal for camp GLOW, and will be included among the potential sites for the camp aimed at young men.

Professional Nicaraguan involvement in the camp is a top priority, and each participating volunteer is investigating the inclusion of their work counterparts.  To best achieve this cooperation, we once again look to the precedents set by Camp GLOW.  GLOW 2013 utilized a non-centralized source of counterparts; one organization was listed for grant purposes, but counterparts came from many sources.  GLOW 2014 courted Plan Nicaragua as its’ sole counterpart organization; all facilitators came from the Plan Chinandega Office.  GLOW 2015 will once again partner with Plan Nicaragua, but facilitation will be split among three teams: The Plan Chinandega Office, The Plan Somoto Office, and Peace Corps Volunteers, with the potential inclusion of an ASONVIHSIDA representative.  The men’s camp has received encouragement and support from Profamilia Nicaragua, a branch of International Planned Parenthood Federation, and has been named on the grant.  At least two offices are planning to send counterparts, and we are open to courting the involvement of other Nicaraguan organizations.

Finally, a number of us have bent our heads towards research.  To effectively develop any curriculum, a facilitator must understand their audience, temporal limitations, and given objectives.  With these factors in mind, the facilitator then turns to the body of existing resources available to pick and choose and tailor pertinent topics and tactics.  No one educational resource will ever replace the facilitators’ job of researching a wide body of material and custom fitting activities to their needs.  At the same time, it would take a lifetime to review all the educational material devoted to promoting gender equality.  A balance must be struck.  The following is a list of pdf resources which may contribute to the mélange of our camp. 

• Reaching Men to End Gender Based Violence
• Promoting Men's Involvement in Care and Support Activies forPeople Living with HIV and AIDS
• One Man Can Fact Sheet
• MAP Life Skills Educators Training Manual
• MAP Engaging Boys and Men in Gender Transformation, GroupEducation Manual
• Hombres de verdad
• Engaging Men as Allies in Women's Economic Empowerment
• Nicaragua Boys Conference
• Mobilsing Men in Practice
• Engaging Men and Boys GED 501 Manual
• Camp To Be Manual, PC Bulgaria

Thus our efforts trundle onward.  One surprise we have encountered is that in 2001 a group from Peace Corps Nicaragua put together a conference for Nicarguan boys to examine gender relations, which is linked above.  It is with respect that we may stand upon the shoulders of our predecessors."

--James, HE 58, Chinandega