Do You GGLOW?

At the end of last month, I was fortunate enough to attend another volunteers GGLOW camp in Tazenakht (about an hour and a half west of Ouarzazate).  GGLOW stands for Guys and Girls Leading Our World.  At this particular camp, there were 37 girls in attendance, several local men and 8 local women who helped lead activities alongside PCV's.  Sessions touched on topics like, goals, project management, health, physical fitness and Women's rights in Morocco.  It was a huge success and I'm so proud of my girl Aly for pulling it off!

Conga line!!

The Group

The GGLOW camp made me think about things I could do in my site.  Tazenakht is quite a bit bigger than where I am and I don't think I would be able to manage an overnight camp for girls in my area.  However, I do have an amazing mudir who is willing to back me up with all my ideas.  There are also several women in my site who I believe would be willing to take on leadership roles for a daytime activity.  With that said, I have come up with the following project outline for a week's worth of International Women's Day events.


On Wednesday March 7th, women will be invited to the dar chbab for a few hours of fun where they can learn about different home beauty care products.  Facial mask made out of yogurt and mint.  Feet and hand scrub made out of yogurt and sugar.  It will be a fun day to start off the week.  On March 8th, the official International Women's Day, women will gather to watch the video You Can Dream and discuss the issues addressed in the film.  Issues such as girls' education, discrimination in the workplace and Women's rights.  On March 9th, a local doctor will come to the dar chbab to talk to the women about diabetes and heart health.  These two issues are a huge problem for women in Morocco and many do not seek out medical treatment as they usually do not know they have either problem.  To end the week, we will gather to have an aerobics class and end it all with what else but a dance party!


I think it will be a great week for women to have a reason to gather outside of each other's houses and learn a few things in the process.  The great thing about doing this as daytime activities is that no funding is really required.  I will be asking local business owners if they would like to donate tea or cookies for the activities and if nothing else, I will buy it for them.  This is something simple that I can do for the women of my community.  I'm looking forward to the event and have been busily getting things together for it.  Fingers crossed that all goes well!