Les Hommes de Force

So I want to tell you all about a baby project of mine that is in the works right now. A project sort of related to education, but on a much more informal basis, similar to my role as a mentor in City FC back in the land of highways and fast-food.

Since my internet time is short, and I don't want to get too excited about this project before it crashes and burns, I will only write a bit about what it is I have in store.

In West Africa, and especially Burkina Faso, there is a lot of emphasis on girls empowerment. Girls empowerment sounds great and all, but the reality is that it is not practiced to the fullest extent that it could be. It's simply a term that many people use to make themselves sound better, sort of like how we have so many Manchester United fans in the world. In a sense, a bandwagon cause. We in Peace Corps Burkina Faso have placed a great emphasis on girls empowerment, and I have seen a way to do it using a different method: by working with boys. Because how can we promote the equality of women without getting men on the same page?

So I started the idea of a group called Les Hommes de Force, a group named after a group we had a School Without Walls, Men of Strength. I wrote up a plan in French, and gave it to my principal (also my private French teacher) to review. Not only was he encouraging, but he seems excited to help in some small capacity providing me with contacts like the governor to come and talk with my boys about being a man in a changing world, and how to keep up with the times. The group will discuss gender equality and family planning (keeping in mind the Burkina culture of course), as well as information about the prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases often associated with West Africa. And we will play some football too just too keep them interested.

He is going to help with the selection of the boys from school. We will take 4 students from each 6th grade and 5th grade class (grades go in opposite order here) who demonstrate the values of a leader in the classroom, which we will hopefully get them to demonstrate outside the classroom as well. While everything seems grandiose, we are working things out to make it doable for 2-3 weeks in June. I am super excited because this, unlike my teaching, is my first real project that I started and collaberated on. I only hope that things work out.

Oh, and the Washington Capitals are freaking awesome. C A P S CAPS CAPS CAPS!