Kacey's Club Glow

A while back Kacey wrote about her experience at the Girls Leading Our World summer camp. Building off the momentum they generated at camp Kacey and the eleven girls from Tetovo who attended the camp have started a Club Glow here in Tetovo. The girls went to every high school in town to recruit other girls before their first meeting last week. At their first meeting over 60 girls showed up! I'm posting a link to an article a local newspaper ran about club (translation below).


Club Glow Newspaper Article


American Corner Tetovo in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Macedonia and students of all secondary schools founded Tetovo girls club "Glow Glub. The purpose and mission of this club is to work and develop activities to make women a key factor in society. With the motto "Girls lead our world" they intend to work in various activities planned throughout the next year. "American Experience, in English and led by an American appropriation will enable the language and skills relevant to women was a relevant factor in society", said the coordinator of American Corner, Gim Solomon, adding that the club is led by Kacey Molloy, Peace Corps representative to the U.S. in Macedonia. He explained that girls have now formed the different departments that will enable the functioning of the "Club Glow", while the day of establishment have taken part about 70 girls. Participants of the club say they will be in trend with the world and will work with commitment, to become the online voice of civil society. "Experience we received during the multi-ethnic summer camp, in Pelister, want to share with other girls in Tetovo. Based on our other motto 'Be a woman, be yourself' hope to achieve our mission to deliver awareness and breaking of more than stereotypes already known about the female world, "said Vlora Memedi, one of the founders of this club. Meanwhile, spokesperson of the "Club Glow" says Tetovo is now connected with other clubs in Macedonia and throughout the world. "All girls together aim to develop the natural potential that lies in Tetovo young women by providing them with necessary knowledge to become active leadership in society. All this being carried out through training, construction of personality, leadership profile, the cultivation of team work, problem-solving current and cultivation of creative skills, "said Rexhepi Arjeta, the department responsible for public relations in "Club Glow" Tetovo.

Tetovo, Macedonia

We thought we'd share some short videos of where we live. The following three are of the green market (pazar in Macedonian/treg in Albanian) here in Tetovo. (I must apologize in advance for the shaky camera; I tried to keep it steady while walking but obviously I need more practice.)











A short clip of one of the busy intersections in town:





The following two videos are of our apartment. We have a great place with basically all the amenities we had at home -- nothing like what we pictured when joining the Peace Corps, but we can't complain!




You can see inside our apartment by clicking the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1u-YzSy_28



*Stay tuned for more videos of the village Kacey works in and the municipality and NGO where Conor works!

Camp GLOW - Girls Leading Our World

I must admit that it is often hard to see the impact my work as a Volunteer has here in Macedonia. Because Macedonia is a developing country, Conor and I do not share in the well-digging or school-building type projects in which many other Peace Corps Volunteers partake. In many ways this is more difficult and provides separate challenges from infrastructure building and program building from the ground up. We are here to help change or alter mindsets, and being that our influence is not as physically evident, it is easy to become discouraged and feel as if we aren't making a difference. It really makes me value times that I see changes in behaviors of those I've worked with. I recently had one of those experiences, an experience unlike any I've had before, that made me see the true impact we are having on this little country and it gives me so much hope for the future of Macedonia.

This summer I was selected to be a counselor at a summer camp focusing on girls' leadership and empowerment. Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) is designed by Peace Corps Volunteers and its mission is "to develop the inherent potential found in the young women of Macedonia by providing them with the skills and knowledge necessary to become active leaders in their communities". High-school aged girls from all over Macedonia are invited to apply and 80 are selected to attend each year. The Camp is also representative of the ethnic make-up of Macedonia in that 70% of the girls selected are Macedonian, 25% are ethnically Albanian and 5% Rroma, Vlach, Serbian and Macedonian-Muslims. This in itself is a unique opportunity for students here because in their home communities people of different ethnicities rarely interact. In fact almost every school, primary and secondary, is divided by shifts or classes based on ethnicity. The Camp is conducted entirely in English for several reasons, a large one being to create commonality. In addition, Macedonia is a very patriarchal society in which women have very little voice. A program designed specifically for women's leadership here is unheard of.

The first night of Camp

Although Camp GLOW was designed by Peace Corps Volunteers our goal is to make it as sustainable as possible. Therefore, each year components are added that give more responsibility to Macedonians. Jillian, this year's program coordinator, did an outstanding job and further ensured this piece by adding a counselor training. Each PCV counselor was paired with a Senior Counselor (a girl who has previously attended Camp). The PCV and Senior Counselor worked together to lead a small group throughout the week. Four Junior Counselors were also very active in the successfullness of Camp GLOW.

Counselor dance to "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"

Throughout the week young women attended classes focused on various issues such as: Democracy in Action, Self-esteem & Body Image, Peace Education, Effective Communication, and Diversity Appreciation. (You can find a complete list of classes on the link below.) Each session was taught by a Senior or Junior Counselor with the assistance of a Peace Corps Volunteer. During each of the classes I sat in awe watching the young women teach their peers. I was completely blown away by their poise, knowledge and passion.

Girls maneuver through an obstacle course as a group
during a team-building session

Throughout the week I was honored to be witness to remarkable growth from the girls attending. They came to Camp already outstanding young women, but left with the skills necessary to be active leaders in their communities and in our world. It was inspiring to see Macedonians and Albanians embrace, Rroma and Macedonians stay up into the wee-hours talking, and Vlachs and Albanians laugh and sing together. Tears were shed all around as the girls shared what Camp meant to them on the last night during a candle-lighting ceremony, and I left Camp GLOW knowing that these girls will make a difference in Macedonia.

One girl's dream

Nine girls from our home-town of Tetovo attended Camp this year and one additional girl returned as a Junior Counselor. Immediately following Camp they expressed their sincere interest in starting a Club GLOW here to teach and inspire other young women in our area. We had our initial meeting last week and will have another in just 3 days. In this one week they have been active in designing ways to spread the word about the Club to all eligible girls. Their desire to "be the change they wish to see in the world" is evident on their faces and in their voices as they discuss what it means to lead.

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such exceptional young women...get ready Macedonia!!


*Please view the following link for more info. (and check out the video from last year!):
http://sites.google.com/site/campglowmacedonia/Home

One Sweet Month!!

We've just finished 5 incredible weeks! Jim and Casey arrived at the end of June and we explored Macedonia. Kacey left us for 11 days to work the Girls Leading Our World summer camp. The four of us then visited Istanbul for 5 days before heading to Athens and the surrounding area for another 5 days. Jim and Casey flew home and we flew on to meet Harry and Jeanne in Rome. We spent three great days in Rome before heading south for two days in Naples and Pompeii. A train took us across Italy to Bari, where, despite a few setbacks -- they canceled our ferry -- we made our way to Durres, Albania. One wild taxi ride later we were back in Macedonia for another fun week of exploration with Harry and Jeanne!

Highlights included: Jim drinking, with much struggle, his second cup of coffee EVER; A Muslim "monk" lecturing on the intricacies of American Democracy; plenty of Rakija -- for details ask Jim or Jeanne; A 4'5" 9 year old girl pitching a baseball to a 6'10" 19 year old who was swinging for the fences -- from 8 feet away; An interesting bonding experience for Kacey and Casey at a traditional Turkish bath; Three straight nights at an Irish Pub in Athens; Harry and Conor screaming at Roman waiters nearly to the point of blows ("Boy, you sure screwed up this time" -- HH); Hours of ear pounding music at an Albanian wedding; Harry and his sheep (no details); Jim learning how to taste wine -- feel free to ask for a demonstration; And one "successful" encounter with Rroma kids in Skopje!

We've created an online photo album at snapfish. Unfortunately you need an account, although the account is free. If you want to check out the pictures email one of us and we can send you an invitation and link.

Hiking Marathon

Two weekends ago we joined another Peace Corps couple, Dan and Jillian, on a 27 mile hike from one town in eastern Macedonia to another. The day began with a 4:00 am taxi ride from their town of Kriva Palanka to the town of Probishtip. After a tour of 800 year old Lesnovo Monastery where both Jillian and I had to put on skirts and Conor pants due to the presence of a monk, we set out. This 3rd annual marathon hike is organized by the Kriva Palanka hiking club and we accompanied 30 members ranging in age from 17 to mid-60s.

The views were amazing and as Dan puts it, "We passed through no less than half a dozen terrains and I think several microclimates on our journey, including a boggy marsh, a beautiful meadow, some loose boulders and for about 500 meters, a desert." During the first third of our trek we had to cross a river - not particularly deep, but with a rocky, uneven bottom. Up to this point two small dogs from Lesnovo Monastery had joined us and wanted to continue, and as we reached the other side of the river we heard much whining and splashing as the littlest jumped in. He got swept downstream and over a small waterfall, and instead of swimming to the side he relentlessly tried climbing back up the falls. He was pulled out by a fellow hiker and sat there drying off and resting from his laborious swim. We continued on our way, assuming the two pups had gone home until the other one showed up as we were eating lunch. After ten more kilometers it was obvious he intended to complete the hike with us. Near the end as we commented on his determination, the leader of the hiking club answered back, "Oh him? He comes along every year and then he walks home."

At the peak of our hike

We arrived at Osogovski Monastery in Kriva Palanka around 8:00 pm just as the sun was fading, and finished off our day with dinner and beer. It felt nice to finally put up our feet. While resting though we couldn't help but think of Jim (Conor's dad) who's on his own journey on the Santiago de Compostela trail in Spain, hiking nearly 500 miles in four weeks.

Osogovski Monastery in Kriva Palanka

Tearce Student Council

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdHjOnh636c

Kacey has started a Student Council for seventh and eighth graders at her school in Tearce, Macedonia. Working with one of the English teachers (there are five at her school) they brought together a multi-ethnic group of Albanian, Macedonian, and Turkish students. At the first meeting they explained to the students the point of the club was to have the student leaders identify areas or aspects of their own school that they wanted to see improved or changed, that it was up to the students to figure out what to do, and it was up to them to figure out how to involve the other students in the school.

Walking them through this process, the students immediately identified trash (an endemic problem throughout Macedonia) as the biggest problem at their school. The school grounds, both inside and outside the school, are covered in trash (as is the entire village). The students decided they wanted to cleanup the mess. Importantly, they also came to the decision on their own that they needed to educate all the students at the school why they should not litter and instead use garbage bins in order to address the root cause of the problem.

The students decided they needed to meet with the school Director (principal) and solicit her help. Kacey and the other teacher arranged a meeting between the students and the director. The director was very receptive and listened as the students asked for garbage bags, trash cans for inside and outside the school, gloves, and the opportunity to teach all the classes. The director agreed and asked how the students would feel about collecting 20 denars from each student (40-50 cents). The students thought it was a great idea and a way to show the other kids that they were the cause of the problem and they had an invested stake, both in the problem, and the solution.

Next, a meeting with an NGO was set-up and the students presented their proposal and plan to address the trash problem. They are still waiting to see if the NGO will help fund their project. Currently they are working to organize a school-wide cleanup and education.

Kacey put together this video and it was presented at a town clean-up day organized by the municipality. The municipality was inspired by the students effort, and the video was screened to a packed gym of a few hundred people.

As a little background, Tearce is halfway between Tetovo and the Kosovo border - 7 miles each direction. During the conflict in 2001 it was a center of violence and all the Macedonians fled to Skopje. The group Kacey has brought together is made of up kids from three ethnic backgrounds. Although most of these kids have attended the same school their entire lives they have had little or no interaction; for some kids it is their first real interaction with peers the same age, from the same school. The school is run with ethnic classes, meaning Albanian kids have class with only Albanian kids, Macedonian with only Macedonian, and Turkish with only Turkish. Not wanting language to be a barrier to any student, Kacey and the other teacher decided the Student Council would operate in any language. They manage meetings with a lot of translation and patience, but the students have been incredibly receptive, many attempting to speak a language other than their own in order to help make their peers feel welcome. In the video the kids are each speaking their own language, Macedonian, Albanian, and Turkish, and two speak in English. Thus, the video has four languages.

enjoy!

Long Live Marx - and $4.50

Day of the International Solidarity of Workers, or Labour Day, is still celebrated May 1st here in Macedonia. It remains a national holiday and people flock to the hills and mountains for "picnics." A teacher Kacey works with invited us to join him and a group of friends for a picnic in a tiny village on the side of a mountain. What he didn't tell us was that we would be leaving Tetovo at 8:30 am. With little time wasted we began drinking Rakija (Kacey's favorite) promptly at 9:00. It rained all day, but the picnic area, which is at a centuries old church, was covered. The view was spectacular (when it was clear); we could see much of the Polog valley with the views stretching far south of Tetovo and North into Kosovo. The day was filled with eating (five different salads, pork, chicken), drinking (Rakija, Skopsko beer), and lots of singing (1991 soft rock classics intermixed with Macedonian folk songs) accompanied by the guitar.

At the green, or open air market Saturday we bought 25 pounds of Potatoes, 2.2 pounds of tomatoes, 2.2. pounds of cucumbers, one cabbage, one head of lettuce, 1 pound of onions, half a pound of peppers (and one complimentary lemon because we spoke Albanian) -- all for about the equivalent of $4.50.