Chicas Brillantes

Hi friends, family, and followers,

We are up in the mountains of San Cristobal for the weekend for a gathering of girls of all ages from all over the southern half of the Dominican Republic. The conference is called, "Chicas Brillantes" or in English, Brilliant young ladies. We both brought two girls from each of our work sites along with fifteen other volunteers to a weekend camp...girls only; Dan and the other four male volunteers don't count. We are all sleeping in bunk beds for the weekend, eating group meals and well...doing girl stuff. It is our first official, "Camp" and we are feeling very psyched about being here and having the privilege of bringing girls from our proper sites.

Girls in our Batey and in DR society in general are encouraged to stay in the house helping their families with daily chores, rearing children, etc. Often in our presentations in the community or informally during visits we will hear older women or older girls telling younger girls, "Tu no sabes.." meaning in English, "You don't know" this phrase said over and over again, resulting in cultural oppression among the female gender. Education is valued in an urban setting more than a rural setting based on access and resources...so it is not always an easy feat to rally girls to leave the community, this is a very big deal!

During our Chicas Brillantes Conference, The girls have had presentations and discussions on topics such as; self-esteem, conflict resolution, parts of the body, teenage pregnancy, health, gender equality, and heroines. Dominican nationals as well as volunteers have led the presentations, and many questions and insightful dialogue has been presented in the process of talking about many issues that are naturally silenced within this society. As the weekend progresses the girls have become closer, forging friendships with other girls from other regions and more sensitive topics are being presented based on the level of trust.

We watched Mulan, great movie if you haven't seen it! And then discussed how women are capable of changing gender roles and doing nearly anything a man can do, exceptionally empowering. We are both feeling inspired, and content, and having moments this weekend when we are beginning to realize, "Ah...yes, this is why we are here!" as we witness and participate in a genuine experience with our Peace Corps peers.

Wishing you all the best. We love questions and comments and love,

Danno and Phoebs