The Office of Private Sector Initiatives September/October 2008

www.peacecorps.gov/contribute Kk pcpp@peacecorps.gov Kk 1.800.424.8580 x2170

“Never doubt that a small group of 

committed people can change the 

world. Indeed, it is the only thing 

that ever has.” - Margaret Mead

Are girls leading our world? Absolutely. Ireland, New 

Zealand, Finland, the Philippines, Chile, Mozambique, Switzerland, Liberia, and India all currently boast female leaders. 

However, based on the success of Camp GLOW (Girls Leading 

Our World) 2008, the Dominican Republic is sure to be next on 

the list. In April 2008, Peace Corps Volunteers serving in the 

Dominican Republic submitted a proposal to the Peace Corps 

Partnership Program for $3,936 to help fund this year’s Camp 

GLOW. The community contributed 29% of the total cost of 

the camp ($5,512.24), and the remaining amount was raised by over 25 donations to this Partnership Program project. By May 2008, the camp was fully 

funded and ready to be implemented.

From July 14 to July 18, 24 

Peace Corps Volunteers and 53 Dominican young women from across the 

country joined forces in San Cristobal 

to learn about what it means to grow 

up as a woman in the Dominican Republic. The goal of the program is to 

provide female Dominican youth with 

the information, affirmation and encouragement they need to make healthy life decisions, believe in 

themselves, and to dream big. A normal day for these young 

women includes cleaning, cooking, mopping, washing clothes, 

looking for water, and taking care of younger siblings. During Camp GLOW, this was replaced by self-esteem, sexual 

education and other gender-related workshops, craft-making, 

sports, group building exercises, a talent show, and a professional panel. Camp GLOW is a balanced mix of educational 

workshops and fun creative activities. 

Specific workshop topics included Self-Esteem, Team 

Building, Body Image, Women around the World, Creative 

Expression, Nutrition and Exercise, Healthy Friendships, Reproductive Health, Sex and Gender, Income Generation and 

Life Planning. Additionally, Condoms and Teenage Pregnancy 

and Relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti were 

workshops given by 2nd year campers. Artistic activities, such 

as crafts, drawing, dance and theater were used in one-third of 

all workshops. For example, after learning about body image 

and how it is formed, campers were asked to create life-size 

self-portraits. They traced one another’s bodies on huge poster board, drawing a line down the middle to divide the body 

in half. After drawing their self-portrait, they were asked to 

write society’s perceptions of their body on one side and their 

own reflections and feelings about their body on the other side. 

During Reproductive Health, these young women learned how 

to do a breast exam with the help of flour-filled balloons. Two 

Peace Corps Volunteers from the Community Economic Development sector 

led an Income Generation workshop, 

where campers learned how to make 

popular products in the Dominican Republic. The Life Planning workshop 

led the girls through exercises on goal 

setting and reflecting on their dreams. 

This concept was illistrated by creating 

dream catchers, which every girl was 

able to bring home to their community. 

In addition to workshops, each afternoon participants chose from a variety 

of “free time” activities, including swimming in the pool, yoga, volleyball, designing a diary, or cooking 

banana bread.

One of the most successful events of the week was a 

Professional Panel, which included a diverse mix of business 

people and health workers. Campers had the chance to ask 

panel participants questions regarding their success and challenges in their careers. 

Not only were the girls exposed to new information 

and had the opportunity to ask questions in a safe, all-girls 

environment, they also made new friends from across their 

country. The teenagers who participated in Camp GLOW 2008 

left San Cristobal with much more than a dream catcher and 

a new journal. Campers returned to their communities with a 

new sense of self, confidence, and the energy to teach other 

young women in their communities what they had learned at 

Camp GLOW. 

Girls Leading Our World 2008

submitted by R. Gottesman and M. Kirby, Dominican Republic PCVs (modified for space)

Campers returned to their 

communities with a new 

sense of self, confidence, 

and the energy to teach 

other young women in their 

communities what they had 

learned at Camp GLOW.
Peace Corps Office of Private Sector Initiatives Kk 1111 20th Street NW Kk Washington, DC 20001

Working towards a brighter future...

 The staff of the Office of Private Sector Initiatives (OPSI) have traveled the 

world this past year attending conferences and visiting 

countries of service. Michelle 

Cangelosi, the OPSI Director, 

had the great pleasure of traveling to a selection of countries 

where Peace Corps Volunteers 

serve. On her first trip as the 

Director, Michelle visited Partnership Program projects in 

Mali, which made strong and 

positive first impressions. One 

project was initiated by a women’s group to create a community garden and a nearby well. This project had far reaching 

benefits including improved heath and nutrition, and an influx of 

income for the community. Michelle has since had the opportunity to visit several other countries and projects, and without 

fail, returns with glowing stories. “Representing the Partnership 

Program is truly an amazing gift because I not only get to see 

Volunteers working on their projects but I can look into the eyes 

of community members and see what an impact their projects 

truly have on them.”

In May 2008, staff members, Matt Smith and Amy 

Meldrum, set up the bright new exhibit at the Seattle Peace 

Corps Expo. They were able to meet with several Returned 

Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who were interested in remaining active with Peace Corps through the Peace Corps 

Partnership Program. Matt mentioned that he “could see that 

this Program really spoke to people’s desire to stay involved 

with Peace Corps.” Michelle Cangelosi also attended the 2008 

Volunteer and Service Conference in Atlanta, GA, as well as 

annual conferences for both Rotary International and Kiwanis. 

“Being able to reach out, in person, to groups and individuals 

with similar goals is such a great opportunity for us to highlight 

what our Volunteers are doing everyday around the world.” 

The OPSI staff seek out any opportunity to market the 

Partnership Program to interested individuals or groups. Lara 

Fedorov, a Program Specialist for OPSI, related that “many of 

us have been Peace Corps Volunteers and know from firsthand 

experience the importance of community-initiated projects. We 

want to make sure that as many people as possible know about 

the Partnership Program and understand that they can be a 

part of the Peace Corps by supporting one of these projects.” 

The Office of Private Sector Initiatives is on the MOVE!

“Now I know that it is okay to stand in the same 

room with someone who is HIV-positive...We must do 

something to make a difference...It isn’t fair that these 

people must live like this...We have made a project for our 

town to teach people not to be afraid. ”

Such phrases were heard during one of the last sessions 

at Camp HEAL last August where campers shared what they 

had learned during their time at the week-long camp devoted to 

teaching Ukrainian children to become peer educators in their 

communities. Listening to these words, tears came to my eyes 

and I knew that this was an experience that I was never going 

to forget.

The camp was the idea of 

four Volunteers who attended the 

Peace Corps Ukraine-sponsored 

PEPFAR conference together with 

their Ukrainian counterparts in 

October 2007. After learning about 

the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine 

and the lack of knowledge among 

youth, we decided that training kids 

to educate their peers was the best 

way to get the message out about 

HIV/AIDS. 

Camp HEAL (Human Trafficking, Education, AIDS/HIV, 

Leadership) was designed and implemented in partnership with 

the Dzerzhynsk Office of Social Services and funded primarily 

through the Peace Corps Partnership Program. With local 

partners contributing 25% of the total cost, we were able to raise 

$3,351.00 from generous donors across the United States.

On August 6, 2008, 30 children from all over Ukraine 

Fighting HIV/AIDS through Education and Fun: Camp HEAL

sumbitted by Kristen A. Schaefer, RPCV Ukraine (modified for space)

traveled to Svatagorsk in Eastern Ukraine to attend the camp. 

The campers attended lessons about healthy living, selfesteem, peer pressure, counter-human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, 

leadership, and peer education. 

At the end of the week, the campers and Volunteers 

developed projects to implement in their communities to raise 

awareness about HIV/AIDS and fight discrimination. While 

everyone was sad when it was finally time to leave, there was 

hope that the newly trained peer educators would make a 

difference.

Throughout the rest of my Peace Corps service, 

I worked with my students who 

attended the camp to organize 

seminars and trainings in our school 

and to bring the issue of HIV/AIDS 

to the forefront of discussions in our 

school and community. The projects 

that resulted from Camp HEAL 

showed me that our peer education 

model worked. Our campers were 

able to design projects that made an 

impact in their specific communities. 

Camp HEAL is one of my 

fondest memories as a Peace Corps 

Volunteer. Not only did I gain valuable experience planning 

and implementing a summer camp while working with others, 

I know that the training that we provided made a difference in 

the lives of students who attended the camp. Those students 

took home knowledge and passion to educate and overturn 

misconceptions, and develop programs to help to spread the 

message about HIV/AIDS.