Boys Empowerment Day

I conducted a youth empowerment camp by which 60 OVC’s (orphans and vulnerable children) attended. RACOBAO, in partnership with Children in Africa, was given funding to target a total of 180 children over a three year period. This year, 60 children who had been living alone for three or more years within Lyantonde and Rakai districts, were chosen for the yearly 2 day camp. The focus of the camp is on: HIV and AIDS; Food and nutrition, Training in income generating activities; Sharing personal experiences as well as counseling from psychologists, but most importantly, improving the self esteem of these children. I created the logo (youth alliance creating hope), design and slogan for the t shirts. I also created the packets of information for all session of the camp and helped design the program. The sessions for the 2 days included: Youth roles and responsibilities; Pychosocial support; Behavioral change and nonverbal communication skills; Peer education skills and drama; Formation of groups to discuss steps in good decision making skills; Gender roles; Violence in the household; Family relations; Goal setting; HIV/AIDS updates and awareness followed by a question and answer session and myth busting; Family planning; Hygiene and sanitation in the household; How to construct a tippy tap; Games and recreational activities; Sharing of personal experiences guided by a councilor; Goat roast dinner and awards. I began the camp by passing out t shirts. Once the kids were settled and had finished eating breakfast I introduced myself and started talking with them about sanitation and hygiene. The session I conducted was proper hygiene and water/food sanitation. I went over all of the ways to make safe water, how long to boil it; how to cover your food and why flies are bad. I discussed: Diseases and what causes them; Nutrition and safe cooking; How to take care of the leftovers; Washing hands and how much water one should drink daily. After the question and answer session, we went and made a tippy tap. I had a girl and a guy explain how to use it. I then talked to them about how to make it emphasized the importance of hand washing. The whole camp went very well. The students were engaged and at the end of the camp, really seemed to open up with one another. However, I did feel that it was a lot of information to pack into 2 days. While the topics were important, I sensed that it was quite a lot for children to absorb in such a short amount of time. Other than that, I felt that it went wonderfully!