Rethink HIV: World AIDS Day 2015

By World Camp Intern Rachael Thorn

World AIDS Day is held each year on December 1st to continue support for the fight against HIV and to commemorate those who have died because of an HIV or AIDS related illness. It began in 1988, making this the 27th year of this international health day. While there have been great strides in the past three decades in understanding HIV and developing treatment, World AIDS Day reminds us that this struggle is not yet over. 

Here are some stats of what happened in 2014 alone (AVERT):
Estimated 36.9 million people living with HIV
2.6 million children living with HIV
54% of all people living with HIV know they have the virus
2 million new HIV infections
220,000 new HIV infections in children

This health pandemic still affects a huge number of the population. Although HIV is manageable with proper regimented treatment, there continues to be misconceptions, stigmatization, fear of getting treatment and lack of access to treatment that pose as obstacles. World AIDS Day is a time we can all come together and show solidarity in the fight against AIDS. Support our HIV health and education programs by visiting our donation page. You can also order your red ribbon.

Your gift provides services and awareness to Malawian communities. By taking this day to reflect on the evolution of this pandemic and rethink HIV, it gives us the opportunity to create new ways of providing support and infrastructure that can benefit those, especially youth, living with HIV in Malawi. Thank you!

World Camp Clubs Refocus

By Managing Director Emily Stallings

Do you remember a teacher who ignited your interest in learning or your passion for a certain subject? I remember teachers from all ages – my kindergarten teacher who would leave the room and come back in as our teacher’s magical sister; my middle school French teacher who taught us songs and encouraged us to use our introductory skills to chat with one another; my high school English teacher whose passion for literature and learning was simply infectious. Great teachers spur us on to learn through their enthusiasm and they can have a significant impact on our interests and development.

World Camp is working with teachers in Malawi’s public primary schools to equip them to make this kind of impact on their learners through our World Camp Clubs. WC has been working with teachers for over a decade to provide supplementary training on child-centered, interactive teaching methods and pressing health topics, beginning with HIV many years ago. Teachers that serve as faculty advisors to our World Camp Clubs (WCCs) are the cornerstone of the program. It is through the passion, dedication and knowledge of these teachers that the program succeeds.

To start off the new school year and a new year of WCCs, World Camp staff Chipingo (Country Manager), Zoey (Intern), and I (Managing Director) met with the Matrons and Patrons, as the faculty advisors are known, of our eleven WCCs on September 10. The meeting was to receive feedback on the previous year’s program and plan strategically for the coming year. The meeting was a wonderful success. Matrons and Patrons expressed the value they see in the WCC program as well as the challenges it faces. The group collaboratively completed a SWOT analysis of the program and moved on to planning for the new year.

I’m thrilled about the plans for the new school year. Teachers agreed that a more developed, shared curriculum would be a big help in implementing the WCC program. The way WCCs work is that WC staff train the Matrons and Patrons as well as the club-elected student leaders and support these individuals in running weekly meetings. The model is decentralized, empowering these individuals but demanding a lot of them, too. The teachers told us they feel capable and invested in running meetings, but also overwhelmed at times.

Together, we agreed having a specific health topic for each month (increased health knowledge is an essential piece of the WCC program) with detailed lessons and activities would provide an enhanced structure for the Matrons and Patrons. Another element of the WCCs is to build up the life skills of club members, so we ensured many weeks incorporate opportunities to flex those life skills muscles. Week 1 of a topic might be heavy on the knowledge component while Weeks 2, 3 and 4 emphasize group work, public speaking and leadership, for example.

So here we are! We’ve delivered the first month’s topic, lessons and activities to the Matrons and Patrons and they’re making their first go of it this month October’s health topic is sexual and reproductive health (SRH), which is a challenging one. We believe in them and we’ll keep you posted on their success!

Staying Connected with Our Kids

By World Camp Intern Zoey Ponder

With the end of Camp Hope comes the beginning of a new year of Camp Hope Follow-Up sessions. Follow-Up sessions are daylong events specifically for the campers that World Camp recruited to attend Camp Hope. These events focus on reinforcing the lessons learned at Camp in a smaller setting that allow campers to grow closer to one another and get one-on-one attention and counseling from World Camp’s dedicated mentors. The first session was all about encouraging campers to dedicate themselves to setting future goals and coming up with ways to achieve those goals. Managing Director, Emily Stallings and I were lucky enough to get to participate in this year’s first Follow-Up. 

The first session, held on September 19th, had two activities to teach our campers how to focus on their goals. One of these activities was a game led by Makhumbo Bwanali, former World Camp staff member and long-time Camp Hope Mentor, intended to help the campers see the importance of focus in achieving their goals. Makhumbo led the campers through a card game to teach them the benefits of focusing on their goals and how to help their fellow campers stay focused. 

For the other activity, I taught the kids how to make an American craft, dream catchers. Dream catchers were an excellent activity to illustrate goal setting and focus because of the significance of dream catchers. The legend of the dream catcher says that bad dreams get caught in the web while good dreams flow through the hole in the middle of the web and down the feathers onto dreamers. The dream catchers serve as a perfect symbol for resilience – allowing the dream catcher to filter out all the negative thoughts while letting positive thoughts filter through. We decided to have the beads of the dream catcher symbolize goals and the feathers symbolize methods of achieving your goals. One feather was made of paper on which the Mentors helped campers write their goals for the future and strategies for achieving them. One girl wanted to be a nurse and a Camp Hope Mentor and asked me how, other than school, she could achieve her goals. Together, we decided she should practice caring for the people she already knows and helping others. She was so excited by this new idea she flashed a huge smile as she wrote it down lightning fast on her methods feather. It was wonderful to see what all the kids want to be when they grow up; many have dreams of helping others by being police officers, nurses, or mentors. 

At the end of the activity the kids proudly showed off their dream catchers and we took pictures of each camper in front of all the dream catchers made by the group. It was beautiful to see all the bright beads and feathers symbolizing all our campers will one day achieve. 

After activities we had lunch prepared by our nutritionist Thandie, who single handedly prepared food for upwards of fifteen people - she was quite the impressive cook! After lunch, she sat with all the kids to talk about the nutritional value of what they ate. I was impressed by how eager all the kids were to talk about their goals and share their knowledge about food groups and healthy eating. 

Last, we had time to hangout and play. Several of the girls were very fascinated with my hair as I had just cut it very short. They ran their hands through it about ten times before they believed it was my natural hair. 

At the end of the day, with healthy snacks and dream catchers in tow, the kids headed home. One girl held my hand and thanked me “for all I had done for her”. She thanked everyone in this manner, the most sincere thank you I’ve seen anyone of any age give in a long time. All the kids were so open and wonderful, always reaching for a hand to be held or jumping at the chance to answer a question. 

The World Camp Rover left the driveway full of waving, singing campers excited about their day and looking forward to the October Follow-Up session!

Reflections on Camp Hope

By Intern Zoey Ponder

As this summer’s sessions of Camp Hope wind to an end and World Camp begins to prepare for our year-round programming, we all take the time to pause and reflect on our time spent at Camp. I was lucky enough to spend four days at two different camp sessions this year and will forever remember how touching this opportunity has been. 

Camp Hope is held in a beautiful setting, sort of off the beaten path about an hour outside of Lilongwe. The campsite lies against the backdrop of amazing rocky peaks and surrounded by quiet villages and farmland. The last fifteen minutes of the drive in is filled with kids yelling “azungu” (a friendly nickname for someone with light skin) and waving at the car as we bounce up and down on the dirt road. The campsite itself has large boys’ and girls’ dorm rooms as well as a huge dining hall in the center. Off to the right of the dorms and dining hall is a soccer field and the main hall and classrooms are over on the far side of that. 

Meal times are some of the silliest times. Kids have three meals and three snacks each day to help teach the value of nutritious eating and to provide valuable nutrition they may not receive at home. It was at Camp Hope that I tried Malawian food for the first time. Everyone is encouraged to eat as much as they want, as it was explained to me by an enthusiastic camper, “This is Africa, EAT EVERYTHING!” Meal times are also utilized to teach campers important food groups, staying hydrated and to celebrate the “Super Campers”. Super Campers are campers who are celebrated for their accomplishments at Camp during “Camp Kawawa” - which is essentially a big party of singing and dancing and giving out awards for any number of accomplishments that can earn one the “Super Camper” certificate. 

Outside of mealtimes the day is filled with loads of activities, special classes on all sorts of topics from the stigma attached to HIV to arts, crafts and campfires. I was very impressed to see the kids memorizing their ART (antiretroviral therapy) treatments and pill names so they can advocate for themselves and understand their treatment. Kids at Camp Hope get the chance to learn a lot about HIV and how they can help keep themselves healthy, like the importance of taking your treatment each day and the value of nutritious food. 

One of my favorite activities was the creation of a goals book. Campers got a picture of themselves taken in front of the Camp Hope sign, which many of them were very excited to share with me—and let me tell you these kids know how to strike a pose! Inside their books, they are encouraged to write what they want to achieve with their lives. Many of them wrote professions like a nurse or an accountant. They then wrote how to achieve these goals, what might stand in their way and how to overcome those obstacles. It was amazing to see kids who very seriously wanted to figure out how to achieve their goals. They were even asking me how to reach their goals and wanting me to share my goal book to them. It was an honor to have them want to share their books with me. 

Camp Hope really is a wonderful place for these kids. I saw so many of them laughing, holding hands, dancing together and sharing stories of struggle and hopes of a very bright future. These kids face a lot every day, but they are brave. Together, I saw them standing tall, whether it be dancing on the stage at Stage Night or in the lunch room receiving their “Super Camper” award. I am very proud of everyone who took part in this year’s Camp Hope and I can only hope that Camp Hope will continue to reach more kids each and every year.

Greetings from Camp Hope!

After years of writing about Camp Hope and working to make it possible each summer, I had my first chance to visit yesterday. The experience was as moving and fun as I could have ever imagined. The campers, like all groups of Malawian children I’ve gotten to hang out with, were sweet, excited to meet a new person, and super energetic. I was invited to eat at a different table for every meal, but I barely sat down before the kids were eagerly asking, “What’s your name?”

Camp Hope is a camp that serves specifically youth living with HIV. These children, so considerate and adorable, are all facing a tremendous life-long challenge. Camp offers our newly-disclosed to youth a chance to come to terms with their diagnosis, learn more about their disease, and bond with other children facing similar difficulties. It’s jam-packed with fun activities, but also designed to provide campers with knowledge and skills they will need to care for themselves throughout their lives.
One of the absolute highlights of my visit was meal time. Campers are clustered into Color Groups that sit together at meals and participate in activities together. During meals campers chant songs, break out into dance and celebrate each other’s achievements from the day. Two campers from each Color Group are recognized at every meal, sung to the front by the whole Camp – enthusiastic hands pounding out a rhythm on the tables. Mentors (think Camp Counselors) recognize the success of these campers: Describing their positive contribution, Labeling the attributes this speaks to, and Praising the camper for this behavior.

I was so happy to find that my visit fell on Day 5 of Camp which features Stage Night in the evening. Stage Night is a talent show that really lays clear what a supportive, nurturing environment Camp is. Each Color Group spent much of the day preparing a presentation to share with the rest of Camp. The presentations showcased the campers’ talents while also emphasizing the importance of Camp Hope to our youth. My favorite moments were when campers recited poems they had written about Camp, or the importance of adhering to your HIV drug regimen.

Both World Camp Intern, Zoey Ponder, and I will be visiting Camp again next week. We can’t wait. We’ll be back with more updates for sure!

Risky Business: Malawi's Youth and Tobacco

In the past decade, Malawi has become one of the worlds five largest tobacco producers. (Aljazeera) As a result of Malawi’s high-nicotine, low-cost tobacco, many major cigarette brands are including Malawian tobacco in their blend. More than 90% of Malawi’s tobacco is bought by U.S.-based leaf buyers Universal Corporation and Alliance One International. These companies resell to tobacco firms, amongst these firms are such big names as Phillip Morris (Marlboro) and British American Tobacco (Lucky Strike) (The Guardian). Malawian tobacco can be found in the blend of nearly every cigarette smoked in the west. 

At first glance the industry may seem good for Malawi, being that it is one of the least developed nations in the world, ranking 153 of 169 countries in the human development index. (Aljazeera) Unfortunately, however, the tobacco industry has done little to improve the situation for Malawians and much to improve the payout for the large western companies that purchase the incredibly cheap “green gold”. The price of this tobacco is kept low for big business in a multitude of ways. There are low tariffs on unmanufactured tobacco imports and a low labor cost. The labor cost is often kept so low by employing child laborers.  

Photo: The Guardian

Though the minimum age to work in Malawi is officially 14, it is common to see children as young as five picking tobacco alongside their parents. It is estimated that 20% of children aged 5-14 in Malawi are working. (Bureau of International Labor Affairs) Many of these children drop out of school to work in tobacco farms and other industry and are unable to return to school or only able to attend school sporadically. Child laborers are especially susceptible to work-related injury and illness. When working with tobacco, large amounts of nicotine can be absorbed through the skin causing nicotine poisoning, an incredibly common ailment amongst child tobacco workers. Large tobacco industries claim not to support farms that employ child laborers, but often do little to actually prevent child labor. In addition, the legal framework to prevent child labor in Malawi is weak. 

The most effective method thus far for preventing child labor is pressure on the companies that purchase the tobacco, in turn putting pressure on the government as well as farms. Other groups suggest improving the school system to attract children and families to enroll and stay in school. This is problematic, however, since many families need the children to work in order to support the family. An improved education, though valuable, would not immediately help support the family. The main groups making headway within the farming system and the government are small NGO’s and other grassroots programs that support both the children and the family. Still, with tobacco sales comprising 70% of Malawi’s income and Malawi being one of the most child labor-intensive economies in the world, it is unlikely much will change as long as companies can keep the tobacco cheap.

This blog was written by Zoey Ponder