Leadership Conference 2008

Club Kiwanis Churquiragua and the Peace Corps Ecuador Gender and Development Committee Leadership Conference 2008

**** so this conference was something that another volunteer grace and i were in charge of last year---- it was one of the greatest challenges i faced during peace corps and by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life. we had to plan and run this conference in everyway... right now i can only upload a coupla photos but hopefully more soon. i have fallen way way behind updating my blog as this conference was nearly a year ago but asi es la vida. much love!!!****

“Eres la Luz que Ilumina el Camino”

The 9^th annual Club Kiwanis Churquiragua and Peace Corps Ecuador Gender and Development Committee Leadership Conference was held July 31- August 3 2008 at the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center in Conocoto, Pinchincha. 55 young Ecuadorian women from various provinces and cultural backgrounds were selected and spent four days attending seminars and workshops on small business, sexual education and developing leadership skills through teamwork.

The young women arrived in the afternoon of July 31st at the scenic and peaceful Sacred Hearts Retreat Center where they were assigned small groups to help the girls meet new people and develop new friendships. The first activity was a motivating and passionate presentation by a past scholarship recipient, Verónica Paucar who spoke about overcoming the many obstacles she faced as a young indigenous mother attending the university and how she rose above the challenges and graduated.

The first night each young woman presented something to the group that represented her home and/or culture for “Cultural Night” which has become a Leadership Conference tradition. This night served to break the ice between the girls and increase their self-confidence.

The first full day focused on small business workshops: how to find funds and how to start and maintain a small business. These workshops were given by PCVs and Elvira Bravo, a successful business woman from Mindo. The girls also participated in two hands-on craft-making workshops where they learned how to make earrings and weave bracelets. PCVs from Anti-TIPs (a peace corps volunteer run-initiative that educates and works to prevent human trafficking) defined and presented the reality and risks of human trafficking in a dynamic workshop.

The evening activity was the showing of “Bend it Like Beckum”, an inspirational movie that highlights a young woman who overcomes many challenges in order to pursue her dream of playing soccer.

The second full day focused on sexual and reproductive health with workshops on: Sexuality and Affection in Adolescence, “Me and my Sexuality”, HIV/AIDS and a question and answer segment which allowed for the girls to ask questions without feeling self-conscious.

The last morning included a poster contest where the girls split into small groups and were given materials to make a poster representing the conference and what they learned. Each group presented and explained their poster. The contest was followed by an awards ceremony where each girl was presented with a certificate commemorating her achievement.

Interwoven through-out the conference were several activities to build self-esteem, inter-personal growth and team building.

1.) Each morning a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) led an optional aerobics class to promote healthy body images and get the girls motivated to start the day.

2.) The young women were given daily journal writing exercises to encourage self-expression and personal reflection.

3.) “Como dejar que mi propia luz brille”. In their small groups the girls each lit a candle as they shared what they learned at the conference that they would bring back to their communities.

4.) The bonfire on the last night was a very unifying event in which the girls wrote one thing they thought they could not do on a piece of paper and one by one each girl threw her piece of paper in the fire and said, “ I can”.

Overall, the conference was very successful in that the participants were exposed to new information and given the tools and increased self-esteem to put their knowledge into action in their communities.

Below are several of the many similar quotes from the participant’s evaluations:

“Si la veo distinta ya que con estos temas, hemos aprendido a valornos a nosotras mismas a los demas a toda la sociedad, estas temas nos han impulsado a seguir adelante.”

“Ahora primero me valora como persona tengo una Buena autoestima, mi manera de ver el futuro es major porque sea como sea voy a cumplir mis metas como la mujer de la provincial del cañar (Veronica Paucar)”

“Si, porque voy prepara para el futuro voy con mas fuerza a superar todas las adversidades que se me pueden presenter voy con las ganas, la fuerza, la Amistad, el Corazon y el recuerdo de lo que aprendi aqui”