At the end of June something very special happened; Camp ALMA. A girls’ empowerment camp for young Peruvian girls around the region of Lambayeque, Camp ALMA offered activities that taught teamwork, effective and assertive communication, self esteem, international issues, professional skills, sexual health, environmental education, and even a little cooking and volleyball.
It was a weekend of pure joy for Becca who had attended and worked at summer camp in the United States for more than 18 years. Becca was a real life camp nerd (this was of course the only area in which she was a nerd) and felt all those familiar happy feelings rush back as the girls started arriving.
For months Becca and her fellow volunteers had planned, written the very complicated grant, gathered supplies, and visited different locations to be sure all was ready. The weekend was full of giggling teenage girls, new friendships, and hilarious moments. More than anything though, the weekend was full of happy, healthy, educated young women who would go on to change lives in their communities and beyond.
This was the kind of change that none of the volunteers would be around long enough to see, but as each girl kissed Becca on the cheek and got on the bus to leave, she felt the buzzing of new ideas and knew these girls would be the future.
