2020 Summer Leadership Camp

A Girls Leadership Camp was proposed in 2017 and stemmed from a desire to include additional life-skill training to Lalafofofo’s English immersion and tutoring program for the girl scholars. Following the initial proposal, Lalafofofo staff researched different initiatives on girls leadership and enhancing educational opportunities.

A 2018 World Bank report on the cost of not educating girls found that the more educational initiatives introduced to girls at a young age, the more their future earnings/standard of living, agency/decision-making power and social capital increase. This particular summer leadership camp was an ad-hoc project that responded to the immediate need of our Tanzanian girl scholars to by providing structured activities with educational, girls’ empowerment and community-building initiatives during the COVID-19 quarantine. The creation and implementation process of the camp was completed in less than one week.

The camp took place during the week of June 22nd, 2020 at the girls’ group home in Moshi, Tanzania. The daily videos included educational lessons that focused on mental health, human rights and girls’ empowerment and fun activities that allowed the girls to bond and create their own sisterhood. Some of the activities included meditations, yoga, games, group discussions, dance parties and a private sisterhood ceremony.