Follow your CSP leaders, Julia in India and Mina in South Africa as they get the chance to go outside the classroom to explore new countries, meet new people and learn more about how the world works. Catch you on the flip side with more stories and experiences to share with you!
The world is round -my experiences in South Africa
Session 3, 2013 was an absolute blast! The campers enjoyed swimming, doing zumba, picking fresh, organic vegetables at Shared Harvest Community Farm, and putting on their Real Girls Runway fundraiser!
The Real Girls Runway rose awareness about our topic of the week: gender equality. To tackle this topic, the campers broke into four crews, focusing on gender equality in media, sports, the workplace, or leadership. Some quick stats the girls shared:
WHY BEING A GIRL MATTERS IN THE MEDIA:
– The average North American girl will see 80,000 ads on TV before she has started kindergarten. While boys in ads are almost always shown building, inventing, leading, or playing sports, girls in ads are almost always on the sidelines, laughing or talking.
– Nearly half of Canadian girls between the ages of 10 and 17 have avoided social activities because they feel badly about the way they look. Only 2% of women think they’re beautiful.
WHY BEING A GIRL MATTERS IN SPORTS:
– Although approximately 40% of sport and physical activity participants today are women, only 6 to 8% of total media sports coverage is devoted to their athletics.
– In a study of school books, boys were represented in physical activities 65% of the time, while girls were represented 35% of the time. Boys dominated throwing and catching activities, while girls were mainly seen in traditionally “feminine” sports like dance.
– This year alone, 50,405 Canadian girls will quit swimming because they feel bad in a bathing suit
WHY BEING A GIRL MATTERS IN THE WORKPLACE:
– Women working full-time jobs only earn an average of 71 cents for every $1 that men make. On top of this, women on average spend much more time doing work they don’t get paid for. This can include hours of childcare, cooking, driving, cleaning, laundry, etc. each day.
– Poverty in Canada doesn’t effect all women equally. Some groups of women are much more likely to be poor than others – Aboriginal women 36%, non-white women 35%, women with disabilities 26%, single parent mothers 14%, single senior women 14%.
WHY BEING A GIRL MATTERS IN LEADERSHIP:
– In Canada, 52% of the population is female but only 22% of Members of Parliament are women. On a broader scale, of all the people in parliament in the world, 13% are women.
– Although it is becoming more common to hear of women taking on roles of leadership in businesses, only 13% of directors at Canada’s top 500 private and public companies are women.
Despite the fact that these issues are complicated, the campers learned why these issues are apart of our society and what they can do to try to change them! They also learned that support and leadership of men in the fight for gender equality is important :)And as a side note… the girls raised over $300 in support of their charity of choice, Because I am a Girl Canada
Lastly, this week, we also had a group of LITs – Leaders in Training! In addition to taking on different leadership roles at camp, the LITs also spent an afternoon volunteering with senior citizens at Grandview Lodge and enjoyed yoga, a campfire, and special self-esteem and leadership training on the LIT Overnight.
Last week at Camp Stella Puella, the girls chose to focus on the topic of Aboriginal issues in Canada. Such an important issue this is as the girls began to understand some unbelievable realities of people right here in Canada. Whether it be the disparity in funding for Aboriginal schooling, the effects of the Alberta Tar Sands on Aboriginal communities or the fact that as much as 20% of Canada’s Aboriginal population live without access to clean water, we gained a greater understanding of these issues through interactive games and activities.
Later in the week, we were graced by the presence of Kahsenniyo Williams, an Aboriginal Mohawk woman from Six Nations in Caledonia, Ontario. She was an inspiration to us all and she awed us by her wise messages and talents. Kahsenniyo spoke to the girls about traditions in her culture. She spoke about the interconnection between water, environment and how women carry these entities of water and land with them. The girls learned that many Aboriginal communities are organized as matriarchy societies. The girls were amazed by this difference in having women as the leaders and decision-makers in a family and the community.
Next, Kahsenniyo performed spoken word poetry for our group. This was so powerful and inspiring. She explained to the girls that each of us has a voice that needs to be heard and a special talent that needs to be shared with others. Through her conviction and talent, the girls walked away with an important message: “you do not have to look a certain way to be beautiful; you are beautiful for the way you interact with your community, your friends and your family, for the words you speak and the people you inspire”.
Thank you Kahsenniyo and Reztore Pride for making this day possible! And congratulations to our Session Two 2013 Superstars for raising $278.08 for Reztore Pride! Check out the spoken word poem written by the girls at CSP session two below:
Nothing is fresh
We are out of breath
The stress is making us a mess
Our nest is no longer blessed
Our nest is less
Their people are being put to the test unlike the rest
The water needs to be boiled because it got spoiled from under the soil it got oiled
Our community may be small
But not all will surrender
But we stand tall
We will not fall
Together we can fit all
But now we stand tall
We are like a brick wall
That will never fall
We know the rest is a big test
We will be strong
Sing our song
And carry on.
As our campers and counselors pack up to leave the beautiful Bliss Haven Retreat Centre, it is safe to say that our first ever CSP overnight camp was a huge success! We are incredibly sad that this week is over but the memories will last a lifetime. There were dozens of highlights this week including, kayaking on the Grand River, themed dinners, visits from special guest speakers and musicians, a skype call from 14 year old Annaleise Carr, the week end talent show, and Friday’s Take Action Day spent volunteering in the Dunnville community. We couldn’t be more proud of the 26 superstar campers who participated whole heartedly in all of this weeks activities; learning more about themselves and the world they live in. Our in-depth workshops focused on issues of child labour, water, the environment, and global health. As well each day, campers had time to focus on confidence building and personal awareness. The week concluded with the formulation of cabin group and personal action plans addressing issues such as bullying, as well as animal and human rights.
A huge shout out goes to our amazing overnight counselors for all their work and enthusiasm this week! Also a huge thank you to special guest Carly Carrigan who choreographed and filmed this amazing video with us!
Thank you everyone for an incredible Summer 2012!! We look forward to seeing you all next summer!
<3 Yasmin, Mina and Julia
As our final session of day camp comes to an end we reflect on the incredible experiences our campers have shared this week. We had a great time learning about the environmental issues facing our planet as well as addressing problems of bullying. The week concluded with the girls hosting an Eco Tea Party on Thursday night. Guests enjoyed fair trade baked goods and delicious organic teas in the outdoor café. Thanks to everyone who came out to support us!
We are so proud of all our super star campers and their accomplishments this week.
What a week! And what an amazing group of campers – enthusiastic and diverse in their passions! We were so excited to welcome so many returning campers back as well as meet some amazing new star girls! This session was a blast, complete with a dance-off, a day at Shared Harvest farm, and some songwriting! Lastly, the girls showed off their wicked dance moves and comedic acts at our talent show/bake sale fundraiser.
Thanks everyone for a fantastic week!
Special Guest Theresa Randles
Fundraising for the Stephen Lewis Foundation
What a way to start the summer! We couldn’t have asked for a more amazing week to kick off Stella Puella’s 5th year!
The campers chose child rights as the theme of the week, so they learned about what rights are and some situations where those rights are taken away from some children. The girls’ eyes were opened to the unfair realities of thousands of kids around the world when they learned about child labour and child soldiers.
Highlights of the week included our musical guest Carolyn McKenna and special guest Theresa Randles from Grandmothers of Steel. The campers organized a stellar bake sale at Flyers Cafe, where they sold fair trade baked goods with the proceeds going towards Free the Children’s alternative income projects.
Possibly the most exciting event of the session was a surprise guest speaker at the end of the week. Michel Chikwanine, a former child soldier from the DRC, shared his heart-breaking yet inspiring story with the girls. What an incredible experience that was for our campers to hear first-hand how the rights of children around the world are taken away!
A big thanks to our campers this week for making it such a successful start to the summer! We miss you already!
Love, Yasmin, Mina & Julia
We are excited to announce our first ever video contest! Post a video about why you love Camp Stella Puella or why you are excited to join us for Summer 2012 to our Facebook page or send it to us via email! The most creative video will get 10% off one session of Dunnville Day Camp!
We love Earth Hour and can’t wait for this year’s to start in just a few hours! This hour of no electricity use unites people around the globe to protect our planet. The energy saved in thousands of people flipping off the switch for just the hour is significant. However, that isn’t the only benefit to the hour of darkness. It also gives us time to reflect on the importance of caring for our planet in fighting climate change and working towards a sustainable future. Last year, 135 countries participated in Earth Hour, totalling the engagement of over 1.8 billion people across the globe! For more information, check out www.earthhour.org and Happy Earth Hour 2012!
A shout-out to our campers from Free the Children Co-founder, Craig Kielburger! He gave an amazingly inspirational talk this evening at the University of Guelph about the impact that youth can have when they take positive actions to better themselves, their communities, and the global community. We love Free the Children’s Adopt a Village development model. Youth is not wasted on the young, not for this passionate generation!
