Girls Club!

We also had our first girls club! Sometimes, when I think about it, I think it sounds silly. I came to Costa Rica to start a girls club…BUT I AM SO EXCITED about how it really will change these girls’ lives. Just think about how they go to school for 4 hours a day and then they…..sit in their house and watch bad tv. There is no basketball team, dance classes, swim team, Odyssey of the Mind, Girls Scouts, art classes, music lessons, karate…there isn’t even a library for goodness sakes! So just think about what the kids do…they have nowhere to go and play organized games or even to have free fun in a safe setting.

So far we are just starting so we have done just the basic things like “What is the purpose of this club? What will we do? When will we meet? Who is invited?” We talked about what a strong girl is, we read a little reflection about why a club like this is important, we played Guesstures with the theme of “Stong girls are…”, and then we did a “service project” and art project in one by making and coloring Christmas cards for all the teachers and putting chocolate in the cards!

This Wednesday, we are going to vote on who is the president, vice president, secretary, etc. and we are going to make some club rules. Then we are going to prepare for SUNDAY because we are going to sell food at a soccer tournament to raise money for the local Sports Committee.
OK! But I haven’t told you the best part yet…the best part is that I made friends! I have been friends with a 15 year old and when she saw me walking around handing out invitations and asking permission from parents of the younger girls to be in the club, she said she wanted to START a club with her friends too! So this we are beginning the adolescent version of the girls club! And they are going to help me with my OTHER project which is to paint a mural of the world on the school! It gets better – so I am also friends with the 15 year olds OLDER sister who is 22. (Pretty close to my age, right?) And she came out of her house during the passing of invites and said “I WANT TO HELP.” OMG! What a blessing from God. So basically, she is in charge of the Girl’s Club.

I speak Spanish, but seriously, I am never going to be a native speaker. I plan out everything, I explain it to her…and she takes charge. It’s awesome! And the 15 year old comes. So I have TWO women in the community who have already taken this project as their own….and that’s the WHOLE point. I can leave and there are two women who love it and love the girls. Whew!