Don’t miss the two photo album links at the end of this post!
In the last blog post, Bracken wrote about some of the challenges facing women and girls in developing countries. In this regard, Panama is mostly doing well – females have many more opportunities here that they do in many parts of the world. In our community, many women have jobs outside of the home and nearly all finish the required school attendance through 9th grade (with many continuing on through 12th grade). This certainly isn’t consistent throughout Panama however, and teen pregnancy is a significant problem in many parts of the country (as it is throughout Latin America). Another serious problem (not unrelated, of course) is a major deficiency in sex education and factual information about reproductive health issues. I recently read an online article citing Panama as the lowest ranked country in Central America (!) when it comes to sexual education. Although gender inequality and women’s health issues are not a primary focus of our work in our community, we have been involved in a few activities to help improve access to information about sexual health for teenagers.
In February, I fulfilled a long-term (albeit misguided) dream of being a camp counselor. However, instead of a summer camp with hiking, swimming and horse-back riding, I was a counselor and facilitator at Peace Corps Panama’s GAD (Gender and Development) Camp. GAD Camp is an annual event organized and run entirely by Peace Corps Volunteers in Panama and it takes place during Panama’s school summer vacation (this year it was in February). We had 63 kids from all over Panama travel to the center of the country to participate in 4 days of games, activities, and learning. It was an incredible amount of work and I barely got any sleep the whole time, since I stayed in the dorms chaperoning 14 teenage girls. But it was an amazing experience and even I learned some new things!
During camp, the focus was on having fun, but the kids had long days with lessons and serious discussions mixed in with the games and silliness. Another Volunteer, Jannick, and I led a group of 11 through the week by facilitating various activities and discussions with them. One of the highlights of camp for me was Huevitos Bebitos (“Egg Babies”) which entailed each kid receiving an egg to take care of for 24 hours. Obviously for 13-18 year olds who are easily distracted, the game did not end well for many bebitos. Many unattended babies were “stolen” by the dwindies, who are fairies that snatch children according to legends in some parts of Panama. In our group of 11, only 4 made it through the 24 hours with their bebitos in tact – all of them guys! I was so proud of the guys for taking such good care of the eggs. And I know they all learned a thing or two about how time-consuming taking care of a kid can be!
GAD camp started with a focus on values, goals, and setting objectives for yourself and your life. We covered resume writing and heard from an inspiring indigenous man who grew up in poverty and now travels all over the world for his job. We then transitioned into talking about obstacles that can keep you from reaching your goals, including teenage pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS. The kids learned about the science behind sex – the part of our brain that demands it (the amgydala), and how our bodies change during puberty. They also learned about all of the reasons that it is better to wait until you are old enough and with a faithful partner to have sex. (Cheating and infidelity are HUGE problems in Panama– there is a very prevalent machismo culture.) Then we discussed STDs, and how HIV turns into AIDS and destroys a healthy body. We wrapped up the week with an afternoon of “Olympic Games” with my blue team coming in third place.
Some other highlights of GAD Camp included an activity where the girls and boys divided into separate groups and listed every word (especially slang words) they could think of for penis, vagina, and sex. The purpose was to get them to move past their pena (embarrassment) and realize they are just words. We told them that after this activity, they can only use the proper, anatomically correct words for body parts and no slang that can be offensive. It was much easier to talk to them seriously about sexual health after they get all the silliness out through this activity. At first the girls were really shy, and no one would say anything. But after a few minutes, one louder, more outgoing girl got us started and we had a long list in three languages (Spanish, English, and the indigenous language Ngöbery) before we ran out of time. I was shocked at how quickly some of the really shy girls jumped in to contribute (and by how much they knew)! I definitely picked up some new Spanish vocabulary through this activity!
Another highlight was dividing the girls and boys up again and giving them the opportunity to brainstorm some questions for the other group. I was impressed with how thoughtful and seriously they took this activity. Right away, the girls wanted to press the guys on why they thinking cheating and infidelity is acceptable. It is such a prevalent part of the culture here (catcalls and whistles on the street are the norm), but the girls would have none of it, and demanded an answer (which the boys didn’t really have…). But the activity really got all of the kids to open up and start talking honestly and openly with each other. We emphasized the importance of good communication, honesty, and trust in a healthy relationship and I definitely think this activity demonstrated that for them.
Even though GAD Camp is fairly simple and basic, the whole experience can be really remarkable and transformational for a lot of kids. In many families in Panama, children never talk to their parents about sexual health and receive little or no information at school. The Ministry of Education in Panama does not have a standard curriculum for schools here, so any sex education that kids receive is hit or miss, and entirely up to the individual teachers. In a country where approximately 90% of the population is Catholic, sex education (including information for girls about protecting yourself from unwanted pregnancy or STDs by using condoms) is often religiously based. To explain the sexual health topics during the camp, we had the help of a Panamanian woman who volunteers with the Panamanian Red Cross. She did a great job of relating to the kids and I was shocked at how quickly they got over their pena and opened up to the topics and the idea of practicing putting on and removing a condom. Teenagers are really curious about sex and if they don’t get information from their parents or at school, they will get it from TV or their friends, which most likely won’t provide them the information they need to make healthy decisions.
The other remarkable part about GAD Camp is the opportunity it gives kids to meet new friends from around the country. Many of the kids have never left their province and this is their first time away from home without a family member. Because of this there was a fair amount of drama and yes, many new “romances” by the end of the week. It was truly amazing to see friendships forming between Latinos and indigenous kids and equally heart-breaking to see them say goodbye to each other at the end of camp. Very few have access to email and most won’t be able to stay in touch, but it was clear that the experience had changed their worldview and opened up their mind about the rest of their country. I hope that they remember what they learned and the experiences they had, and when they are confronted by life-changing decisions and peer pressures, they remember what they learned and make good decisions.
Inspired by my experiences at GAD Camp, I came back to our community wanting to share the experience with the kids at our regional school. With the help and excellent facilitation skills of one of the GAD Camp Organizers (thanks Ben!) we planned a 6 hour seminar for all of the 9th graders at our school. We did the seminar last week and covered the same basic topics, including some highlights from camp like “The Baby Game” where I played the novia to an embarrassed boy from the class. Unfortunately, we had an unplanned pregnancy and he learned the hard way that taking care of a baby and staying in school is really, really difficult. His grades eventually slipped and he lost his scholarship, meaning that he had to get a difficult, low-paying manual labor job working in the fields to support me and the baby. The game is silly, but leaves a long lasting impression with the kids – they don’t forget it. During our seminar, we were also joined by some of the staff from the local health center who gave a presentation on teen pregnancy and passed out information about STDs. Although the kids were very rowdy the whole day, the seminar was a big success and I’m really glad we did it in our school. Nationwide, our province of Los Santos has one of the lowest rates of teen pregnancy in the country, but I still believe the information and activities we did with the students is really important and very valuable at this impressionable age. I think they will remember this seminar for a long time to come. Last week, after our school’s seminar, we traveled to our friend, and fellow Volunteer, Jannick’s community. Jannick was my co-facilitator at GAD Camp and it was great to visit him in his community and do the seminar in his school too. So I guess if you ever need to talk to a group of adolescentes about sex in Spanish, I’m your gal! Now I just have to find a way to explain that on my resume…
Link to pictures from GAD Camp in February.
Link to pictures from Elige Tu Vida (Choose Your Life) Youth Seminar in May.
