Last Monday, at 8 a.m., 10 little girls assembled at Las Cruces.
Our Maria Fernanda was standing by to collect them…
The girls climbed into Maria Fernanda’s pick-up for the 10-minute drive to Los Islotes where Dalys and the team welcomed them to our schoolroom…
As I wrote last week, this week’s Summer Camp For Extraordinary Young Women at Los Islotes is the start of a long-held dream coming true. Lief and I have returned to Los Islotes in time to participate.
Ultimately, I’d like to open a school. It has been my priority New Year’s agenda for the past 15 years.
I’ve worked with an architect to design a building. The plan calls for a study room where local kids will be able to access the internet because they don’t all have it in their homes… plus a computer lab, four classrooms, and a lending library. I’ve collected more than 1,000 books to stock it.
Alas, the books remain in storage and my school remains a blueprint.
That reality doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it had for too long because this year we’ve taken a big first step… thanks to Dalys.
Dalys is our righthand woman at Los Islotes. She runs things day-to-day.
Six months ago, Dalys came to me with a suggestion.
“Senora Kathleen,” she began, “I know you want to start a school for all the children in these parts. But that is a very big idea. What if we started smaller? What if we offered a summer camp?”
“And what if,” Dalys continued, “we focused on the girls?”
Los Islotes sits on Panama’s Veraguas coast. The region is remote. Girls in these parts, as Dalys says, don’t grow up with big dreams. They don’t prioritize education or finding a job. They hope to find a man.
So, when Dalys suggested that I rethink the approach for my Los Islotes school, I understood. She had come up with a strategy to help local girls build confidence.
Dalys’ idea has evolved into the Los Islotes Summer Camp For Extraordinary Young Women.
“Because that’s what we can show them that they are,” Dalys said. “They’re extraordinary. They just don’t know it yet.”
For these three-week programs, we’ve set a straightforward agenda. We’d like the girls to leave able to hold a basic conversation in English.
Of course, we also want them to have fun. Los Islotes offers infinite opportunity for that.
Each morning our camp-goers assemble for classroom instruction…
Then they hit the road…
Through the jungle and down to the beaches… into the mangroves and across the hilltops… our campers take off on the trail of discovery.
We give the girls canvas and ask them to draw what they see…
Session I’s little ones will be followed by older girls for sessions II and III in February and March. We intend to show the oldest how to prepare a resume and write a cover letter to apply for a job—maybe with us!
Our inaugural week has been a grand success.
“All good, Senora Kathleen,” Dalys reported Friday afternoon. “Everyone had fun. They didn’t want to go home!”
Dalys and I are discussing next steps. Perhaps we can offer Saturday sessions when the girls return to school.
Until next time,
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter
