Hello all,
This summer, I am co-coordinating a five day summer camp for young Moldovan women. The camp is called TARE, and this is a little info. on what this camp will be doing:
The purpose of the TARE camp is to educate young Moldovan women on how to become healthy successful individuals. The seminar will focus on the age group of 17-21 year olds and will take place over five days. During this time, 80 women will be taught the knowledge and life skills they need to develop positive self images, find reputable employment, care for themselves and their children before, during, and after pregnancy, understand their reproductive health needs, protect themselves from high risk behaviors and being exploited, and learn the importance of being involved in creating a better future for themselves, their families, their community, and their country.
TARE is a unique program in that it addresses a population that is often overlooked. Most health programs that provide education on the dangers of risky behavior, such as unprotected sex, focus on youth in high school and are relatively new in Moldova and limited in their geographical scope. The result is that young women between the ages of 17 and 21 are too old for current programs and attended high school before these programs began. Because of this, there is a generation of young women entering the adult world with little to no knowledge of the issues related to keeping themselves and their future children safe and healthy. Additionally, many of them are considering finding employment abroad, which places them at risk of being exploited as human trafficking victims.
The camp, organized through a collaboration between a Moldovan NGO “Genul Nord” and PC volunteer, is comprised of lessons on the following topics: conception/contraception, safe pregnancy/motherhood, child development, Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, human trafficking, breast cancer, ecology and employment related skills. There are also activities involving art, dance, yoga and self-defense.
A group of five individual young women will be chosen based on their participation, enthusiasm and leadership to organize mini-TARE Camps for young women in their community. Each young woman will be awarded a small grant to facilitate a series of three seminars based on the material they learned at the TARE Camp.
Empowering young women with the knowledge and skills necessary to improve their own lives and communities counteracts the institutionalized gender imbalance. In a country struggling to develop its civil society, women will play an increasing central role in creating functional democratic institutions. TARE camp actively creates a model for sustainability in Moldova by equipping host country nationals to take control of their own future by including women in the process of community development. A developing country like Moldova, looking towards European integration and greater economic independence, cannot succeed without the inclusion and empowerment of young women. TARE looks to increase the role of young women in this development process, and to create a sustainable apparatus that may be maintained by host country nationals in the future.
If you're interested in contributing, contact me at
annatalley@gmail.com, and I will happily pass the info. to you.
Hope you're all doing well, and look forward to hearing your updates.
Well, thanks to your prayers, support, and encouragement, TARE camp was successful!! It was quite the adventure, and I am really glad that it went as smoothly as could be expected and was a hit. I really feel that the participants left with a lot of knowledge and empowerment and encouragement to make a difference in their country and their lives.
It was so fun getting to know the girls that attended, and getting to know the counselors better that volunteered to help out for a week. Although funding was tight, it worked out, and I am so grateful to those of you that helped out with the funding!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Here are a few photos of some of the good times had by all. It was a great experience, and I feel I have also learned a lot about what to and not to do differently for next year. I will be sending out a full report for all who helped contribute financially, and to anybody else interested in the details of the camp.
