August 2011

On May 21-24, 2011, Stairway Foundation, Inc. hosted the first Leadership Skills Camp for 25 of the local scholarship students. The camp, entitled, “My Right to be a Leader,” focused on teaching our high school scholars about discrimination, children’s rights and leadership skills. The campers came from three different Barangays, and this was the first time that many of the ethnic Tagalog students had interacted closely with youth from the indigenous Mangyan tribe. They were split into four teams and Barangays were mixed, thus challenging the campers to work with new people from different backgrounds. 

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Because of the common perception that the Mangyan are second-class citizens who are inherently inferior to the Tagalog, the campers were introduced to the idea of discrimination in order to create awareness about stereotypes and to start the process of recognizing prejudice in their community. Many of the campers had never heard the word discrimination before, but quickly made the connection between our explanation and the treatment of Mangyan in Puerto Galera. Because this discrimination is so deeply rooted in the culture, it will take a long time for it to be eradicated, but through consciousness raising activities, group discussion and personal interaction with the Mangyan students, our campers took the first step to recognizing prejudice and standing up for what they believe is right. One of the campers wrote, “I learned that all of us are EQUAL. We should not judge other people and discriminate them.”

With the goal of empowering the Stairway Foundation scholars to stand up and be youth leaders in their community, campers learned about leadership styles, characteristics of a leader and the importance of goal setting. One camper reflected, “I realized that to be a leader, there are lots of responsibilities and to be a good leader one must be wise and careful in making decisions.” Another participant wrote, “In this camp I felt very happy, this is my first time. I realized that I have the potential to be a good leader.”

During their session on children’s rights, they discussed the needs of a child through group work and role-playing. Participants learned about the basic rights as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. In order to express their ideas about the state of children’s rights in the local community, the teams painted canvases depicting a child’s life in Puerto Galera. They painted the joys of playing and school, but also the challenges of having no food, poverty and discrimination. Between sessions about these heavy topics, the campers were able to enjoy team-building activities and recreational activities together.

The campers made bracelets, painted rocks found on the beach and crafted Guatemalan worry dolls from thread and toothpicks. They enjoyed beach time every afternoon and played volleyball or snorkeled in the coral reef. The participants learned about drumming and took time to reflect on their experience by writing in their journals. On the last morning the whole group hiked to Aninuan Falls, and from the feedback, this was the highlight for many of the campers. One camper commented, “Activities were enjoyable, especially the hike going to Aninuan Falls.”

On the last night of the camp, the entire Stairway Community came together to watch the puppet shows that each team had written. The participants’ handcrafted sock puppets with button eyes and yarn hair crafted stories about discrimination, gender stereotypes and the differences between good and bad leadership. The campers used creativity and humor to communicate with the audience about these serious topics.

This leadership camp was the beginning of several planned workshops and trainings for the Stairway Foundation scholars this Fall. We hope to capacitate the scholars with the skills to be leaders in their schools and role models for the other students. Our goal is to have the scholars design youth-led community-based projects that they will manage as the community service component of their scholarship. Overall, the facilitators and participants enjoyed the 3-day camp and learned some valuable lessons about human relationships, cultural norms and discrimination.

“I will never forget this camp. Here at Stairway, it’s like you’re a part of a big family. No mistakes were being laughed at by others.”

“It’s an honor to be part of this camp. All the activities were enjoyable and cool. Job well done, STAIRWAY!”

Contributed by Annie Alcid, Stairway volunteer