GLOW is a Peace Corps wide program designed to empower girls and young women. GLOW stands for Girls Leading Our World. Many volunteers start a GLOW Club at local schools to allow girls the opportunity to learn about leadership, women’s health, and gender equality. In Rwanda, each year the different regions plan a GLOW Camp. At GLOW Camp girls from different schools come together for a week long “summer camp” session designed to educate them and empower them. We also hope that the girls make new friends and experience those magical relationships and moments that a camp can create.
This year at our South Region GLOW Camp we hosted 72 secondary students with the help of 20 Peace Corps Volunteers, a “Camp Mom”, 8 junior facilitators, and an amazing camp director, Cass St. Vil. With the help of Beyonce we kept the camp at high energy throughout the week. We all sang along to “Run the World (Girls)” and “*****Flawless”. As the week went on we watched as the normally quiet and reserved girls, began to break out of their shells more and more. They shared their opinions, cheered, and supported one another. Their confidence in themselves as young women was evident by the end of the week.
Nicole, an Education volunteer, had the incredible inspiration to teach the girls some of the lyrics and the dance to one of Beyonce’s newest songs, Formation. This song has many different levels and meanings, according to your interpretation, but we focused on the pride and confidence in the song. Nicole taught all the girls the meaning of “slay” which in essence means to do really well at something and be proud of it. The chorus of the song goes like this, “I see it, I want it, I stunt…I dream it, I work hard, I grind ’til I own it. I twirl on them haters” then she goes on to say, “Get what’s mine (take what’s mine), I’m a star, ‘Cause I slay.” Beyonce proclaims how important it is to work hard to achieve what you want, and once you do it be proud of it. I absolutely love this idea for our students. We encourage them to work hard, to reach their goals, but then Beyonce’s idea takes it a step further by saying be confident and proud of what you have done and what you will do.
In of my favorite anecdotes from a volunteer, a student asked, “Why do you all (Peace Corps Volunteers) like Beyonce so much?” The volunteer responded, “Because she’s a strong black woman who has great music.” The student, without missing a beat, said, “She slays.”
At the camp the girls learned about leadership, gender equality, and goal setting. They had local professional women speak to them about the importance of following their dreams and being leaders for others. The girls talked about black identity and healthy relationships. We played games, sang songs, and danced together. By the end of the week we cried together. Whitney, an Education volunteer, gave the girls a speech at the end of the week reminding them that what they learned and the skills they gained did not end at camp. The friendships they made at camp, and together in ‘formation’ they could go out and change their communities, country and the world.
As Beyonce ends her song, “Okay, ladies now let’s get in formation, I slay. Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation. You know you that b*tch when you cause all this conversation.” My hope is that these girls will cause conversation. That they will shake up their communities for the better, and empower others to make a difference too.
…Cause they slay. :)