1st Day, Schedule of the week

PEACE CORPS HOSTS “BUILD,” FIRST NATIONAL LEADERSHIP CAMP FOR UGANDAN BOYS

You are cordially invited…

Peace Corps Uganda and St. Mary’s College- Kisubi will host Camp BUILD, a leadership camp for Ugandan boys December 4^th-10^th. The camp will bring 150 boys from all over Uganda together for a unique opportunity to develop skills in critical thinking, teamwork, gender equality, celebrating diversity, and goal setting. BUILD, which stands for Boys of Uganda in Leadership Development, brings together boys between the ages of 13 and 15. Camp BUILD will focus on five main themes throughout the week, as described below:

Monday, 5 Dec 2011: BUILDing Yourself- Campers will be divided into fifteen groups of ten boys and spend time getting to know people from different backgrounds. There will also be sessions dedicated to self-esteem and goal setting as well as a camper-led debate meant to harness their critical thinking.

Tuesday, 6 Dec 2011: BUILDing Community- This day focuses on developing individual’s ability to effectively work within a community setting. This includes skills in conflict resolution, self- awareness, and gender equality. Raising Voices Uganda, an NGO dedicated to eradicating violence against women and children, will facilitate a workshop to these ends. Peace Corps Volunteers and host country nationals will lead the boys in learning the importance of peaceful conflict resolution and developing the aptitude to implement this. Finally, Rafiki Theatre, a Kampala-based interactive forum theatre troupe, will perform plays around school violence, gender-based violence, and self-esteem.

Wednesday, 7 Dec 2011: BUILDing Your Health- This day addresses health concerns among Ugandan youth, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS. Peace Corps Volunteers and Ugandan community leaders will lead workshops with the boys dedicated to HIV/AIDS, as well as other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), malaria, reproductive health, water & sanitation, and personal hygiene.

Thursday, 8 Dec 2011: BUILDing the Environment- Thursday focuses on being environmental stewards and respect and conservation of Uganda’s natural resources. Trees for the Future, a Ugandan NGO, will educate the youth about the dangers of deforestation and the importance of preserving Uganda’s abundant resources. He will then lead them in a tree-planting effort around Kisubi. Finally, the boys will have an opportunity to visit the Bega Kwa Bega (Swahili for “shoulder to shoulder”) farm to learn about sustainable agriculture.

Friday, 9 Dec 2011: BUILDing Uganda- In this culmination of the week’s activities, the campers will utilize the skills they have developed all week to become more responsible and active citizens of Uganda. The boys will engage in service projects around the St. Mary’s campus to practically apply the skills they have learned. Also, campers will use creative expression in Personal Projects they have been learning all week to articulate the lessons of the week. Campers will be able to choose between outlets such as creative writing, critical thinking project, drama, break-dancing, art, and music. The boys will also have an opportunity to put their new knowledge of gender equality into practice with a combined session with Peace Corps all-female Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World), and hear remarks from our key-note speaker, Brother Edward Bukenya of St. Mary’s College. Upon returning to their community, the boys will be asked to establish BUILD clubs and share these new-found skills with other boys in their communities.