BREW CREW - Boys Respecting Empowered Women

Today's blogpost comes directly from Peace Corps Volunteer Rich Durnan's personal website http://richdurnanphoto.com/

Visit his website to learn more about his PC service in Cambodia.

On September 27^th, 28^th, and 29^th, several of the English Teacher Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) from Takeo and Kampot provinces, and their Cambodian teacher counterparts, invited 50 high school aged boys for a three-day Camp BREW (Boys Respecting Empowered Women). It’s a camp focusing on topics related to health, career planning, gender issues, and community engagement. These are topics generally misunderstood or overlooked in the public schools. Camp BREW allows attendees to be exposed to and discuss these topics in a safe environment, while they gain knowledge and skills in areas needed to succeed after graduation. It also allows a rare opportunity for Cambodian students from different provinces to meet and exchange ideas on how to better their communities. There is a similar all girls event put on by PCVs called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World).

Sokhom Kourn translates for me during my alcohol use lessons

I was invited to teach a health related section at the camp. One of my secondary projects here is working with several other health volunteers to create a series of curriculum toolkits containing lessons on health topics. This was a great opportunity for me to pilot several of these lessons.

I presented on substance abuse, in particular alcohol use, a topic I consider very important here in Cambodia, and completely overlooked in the schools. 54% of Cambodians report having used alcohol in the last 30 days and men are 10 times more likely than women to heavily use alcohol. Cambodia currently has no minimum drinking age, and although they do have a blood alcohol limit for driving, it is not enforced. Alcohol is uncontrolled and can be obtained any place and by any one regardless of age. The only barrier to obtaining alcohol in Cambodia is money. There is tremendous peer pressure to drink alcohol, especially amongst men, which usually manifests in the form of binge drinking. A common phrase in Cambodia is “Drink to get drunk, and if you are not getting drunk, then why drink?”

With the help of a wonderful teacher Sokhom Kourn as my translator, my presentation began with a quick basic anatomy and physiology lesson explaining how alcohol is processed and its effects on the body.

Then, I led a discussion on the consequences of intoxication. We explored the ways that alcohol can affect many aspects of our lives such as financially, our health through harm to our health through disease as well as through accidents and increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, and socially through our relationships including increased domestic violence.

I had the students play a spoon game. In this game, they close their eyes and spin 10 or 20 times to get dizzy. Then I ask them to walk a straight line balancing an egg on a spoon. The idea is to illustrate how alcohol alters our consciousness and coordination preventing us from doing tasks we normally can do effortlessly. The boys loved this, and they easily made the connection on their own to driving drunk. Road accidents are the number one killer in Cambodia, and alcohol accounts for more than half of traffic fatalities.

My presentation concluded with having the boys write a list of all the things they think they are good at. Anything could be on their list. Then I divided the boys into smaller groups, and had them create lists of things that they could do better together as a group. After the groups presented their lists, I guided them to see that as individuals, they have many strengths, and as a group, they have even greater strength to accomplish things in their lives. The intent was to foster greater confidence and self esteem, two qualities important to combating peer pressure. We finished with a discussion of peer pressure and its role in the abuse of alcohol.


Other topics covered in sessions over the course of the camp were study skills, reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence prevention and prostitution, what it means to be a man, playing sports, and how to plan for your future.

The camp culminated in a field trip to the southern Cambodian beach town Kep.


Here we purchased 30 Kilograms of fresh blue crabs and had them cooked up for us along with fresh fish squid, and shrimp for a seafood smorgasbord. Many of the students had never seen the ocean let alone eaten this kind of food. They were all thrilled.


So were the teachers.

After lunch, we played soccer on the beach and swam in the ocean.


… and of course took a nap.

In The Land of Women

Today's story comes from Peace Corps volunteer, Kinsey Spears, who is currently teaching English in Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia.

Read more about her Peace Corps experience at her blog "Let the Wild Rumpus Start."
Kinsey Spears teaching during Pre-service training practicum
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Being a woman in Peace Corps has it’s own unique set of challenges in every country, but worldwide we face many of the same difficulties. Most female Peace Corps volunteers will experience some level of sexual harassment, and some level of discrimination. We will have to prove ourselves in ways that male volunteers won’t always have to. Explaining why we want to be here working, and not at home poppin’ out babes can be a daily occurrence. That’s not to say that men don’t have their unique set of problems, but I can’t speak for them. That’s not to say that I can speak for all women either.

Despite all these boundaries we have to overcome, we are granted something special, something exceptional. We get invited with open arms into the land of women. The land of women in a developing country is a magical place. Whether it’s behind the Hijabs, or in the kitchen while women while away, we get to be invited freely and without doubt or reserve. Men can break into these realms but it takes perseverance and trust.

We, as female peace corps volunteers, are swept away into this realm and we get to see something that is entirely different than what the public might perceive it to be. I get to go sit with the women who do my nails a few times a month and it’s like all men in the market disappear. They are no longer part of the conversation. These women and girls let down their barriers ingrained in them from patriarchy and discuss everything. From the simplest of conversations – which color will go the best with my white skin – to more difficult ones – the differences between marrying a western man versus a Khmer man and what it means for their future. These girls, that I have gotten to know over the past year, talk about things with me that would never be appropriate in front of a man.

Being able to see women open up in the private sphere is a treat. It allows you to see past the clearly defined gender roles of a country deeply steeped in patriarchy. Male volunteers can sit around with the yay’s (grandmothers) and mings (older women 40s-50s) and it can be completely natural and enjoyable, but they will still be treated as a male for the most part. They can develop meaningful and informative friendships with women their own age, but there will always be a gender divide.

However, as a foreign female, I am allowed a bit more lee-way in terms of interactions with men in my community. Most of the people I work with on a professional basis are males and it would not be overly frowned upon for me to sit down and have a beer with them. Many female volunteers do cross that gender divide and are glad to share a beer on a hot afternoon. I tend to err on the side of caution here, only drinking when the women around me partake or when I’m lost in an anonymous crowd of westerners. But, I could. Male counterparts are quick to ask me about politics or discuss which I like more Angkor or Anchor (types of beer).

This ability to float between the two worlds is why I love being a female Peace Corps volunteer. I get to talk politics with the men and discuss relationships with girls my age in my neighborhood. I get to take cooking lessons with my host mom and talk about campaigning with my host dad. I get to sit with the women from my school and talk about their children and why I don’t have any, and enjoy a beer with the men talking about the popularity of sports in America. But my favorite is being invited into the land of women.

Kinsey Spears with her host brother

By Kinsey Spears, K6 volunteer