The "Negative" side of Camp GLOW

Well, the craziness is over. After the weeklong bike tour, Camp GLOW, and a week in Cotonou planning stage; i'm back in Parakou and heading to post today. it's really nice to miss my post and know that i'll be welcomed back like family when i return...as long as i bring presents. it's a cultural thing here, after a long trip one MUST bring something, normally bread. my friends are definitely not shy either about reminding me. Camp GLOW ended on a fabulous note. I continued to be shocked all week by the enthusiasm the girls put forth, especially mine YEAH Guinagourou! Some girls got a bit snotty a few days before the end so instead of making bracelets as scheduled, we sat in village groups and talked about why we were all there and what we plan to do with this information that has been dumped on us througout the week. my tutrice (model woman from village) surprised me yet again by saying she would like to start having sensibilisations for at least the young girls and boys in Guinagourou about the things we learned. namely AIDS and environmental issues. my favorite session all week was a money management class i gave with a mama who owns two restaurants in Parakou. her story is amazing! she ran away from home before she finished school and started selling peppers for 25 francs a small bag. she realized the importance of saving and started a bank account so the minute she had 5.000 cfa ($10) saved she started a bank account, something NOT NORMAL here. people squirrel away money and eiither are pressured to give it to family or have to invest it in a half-constructed building so they don't blow it on something else. she saved and saved until she had 1 MILLION cfa....that's SOOOO much money, even in the states. currently, the exchange rate is about 489 francs to the dollar, you do the math. at the end of the session, the girls and even tutrices were walking away in a haze of simple accounting methods and the promise of success if one was motivated and patient. There have already been positive success stories that have emerged! One of our guards asked if his daughter could attend a few session so he took the schedule home and really talked it over with his two wives (who actually get along). One of the sessions they chose was AIDS education. A few days ago he told us how she had come home and convinced him and the two wives to go with her and get blood tests!!! this is something that is really difficult get some people to do because of the stigma, even though there are free clinics. all 4 are negative. I feel this best demonstrates how Peace Corps actually works. we're not here to save countries or even villages. the few lives we can really impact are just as precious and at times i feel more sustainable. these people can now spread the word which will do ten times more than i ever could simply because i'm an outsider.