Camp Empower a big success!

On July 6th and 7th, GLOW/TOBE Moldova hosted “Camp Empower,” which brought together 6 teams from across the country to spend a weekend planning an event to improve each of their communities. Committed to the notion of developing oneself in order to develop one’s community, the slogan for Camp Empower was, “Be the change you wish to see in your community, nation, and world.”

On the first day, a Moldovan leader from each team facilitated a one-hour seminar on one of the six camp topics (Gender Roles, Gender Stereotypes, Domestic Violence, Discrimination, Human Trafficking, and HIV/AIDS). During the second day, each team of Moldovans used GLOW/TOBE Moldova’s Training Guide to plan an event in their respective communities, incorporating the information they gathered during the first day of presentations.

Examples of the planned events include writing a short theatrical play to educate their town on the existence and seriousness of domestic violence and human trafficking, a roundtable debate hosted at the local mayors office to discuss cases of gender inequality and discrimination in the town, and an “improvisational theater” hosted at the town’s house of culture to display and critique gender roles and gender stereotypes. 

When asked what capacities were developed from the camp, one participant responded saying, “I exercised my ability to present on a specific topic in front of a room full of people, defeating fear, timidity, and a range of other emotions. After this training, I’m more informed about the subjects we discussed and know how to build an engaging conversation with my peers on these difficult topics.”

Supported by GLOW/TOBE trained Peace Corps Volunteers in each of their communities, the teams are now finalizing logistics in order to implement the events they planned by September 30th.

The Directors of GLOW/TOBE Moldova would like to thank their partnering organization, Forul Organizatiilor de Femei din Republica Moldova, for their support in the planning and implementation of Camp Empower 2013. Additionally, the camp could not have been successful without the work of the regional Peace Corps Volunteers who trained and coached their teams in preparation for day one of the camp – thank you Romy Solomon, Walter Diller, and Elsa Leal!

If you have any questions about what GLOW/TOBE Moldova does or are interested in participating in future events, please contact us by email at glowtobe.moldova@gmail.com.