This past December, the girls from Camp Crioula (July 2010), joined together to create a service project in conjunction with World AIDS Day. Four girls from my town of Ribeira das Patas were involved in the planning process. I provided the concept and they provided the objectives, goals and plan of action. December 1st, we would hold an AIDS formacao in one of the smaller outlying towns of Ribeira da Patas. Those in attendance would then be able to take part in a clothing distribution. The last week in November, 13 former “Crioulas” went door to door in Ribeira das Patas explaining our project and collecting donations of clothing or food. The following day, we continued our campaign in Porto Novo. By the end of the weekend, we had collected 14 trash bags filled with clothing, blankets, accessories and food. The day of the event, we delivered our formacao to over 50 participants, covering important topics such as prevention, personal responsibility, and common myths. The session was closed with a distribution of condoms, informational pamphlets, commemorative pins and clothing.

After our initial formacao on World AIDS Day, we had so many additional goods that we were able to organize a second distribution. With support from our local camara, we were able to bring a particularly special gift to those living in Norte, a community often forgotten. Located on the dry and barren western side of the island, Norte is a remote community cut off from nearly all basic commodities. Along with five other girls and our Camara sponsored driver, we traversed dirt roads for over 2 hours making our way through goat farms, ribeiras, and abandoned homes. We would stop wherever we found people, even briefly pausing in the middle of the road to distribute items to the men and women tirelessly working alongside the road. Being so close to Christmas, we also handed out hand written messages of encouragement and holiday cheer to every recipient.

I count this project successful not only because of the amount of people we were able to help, but also because of where the help was coming from. The girls who organized and implemented the entire project were all part of our Camp Crioula last July. They came into our camp as high school students, we taught them the best we could and sent them back out on their own to hopefully lead responsible and meaningful lives. Seeing these young women, 5 months later, take a stand as leaders and being examples to their communities truly made me proud. One woman in Norte had commented that this gift is especially meaningful because the help and donations had come 100% from Cape Verde rather than “just another foreign assistance program.” For many, this was proof that reliance on official institutions, whether foreign or national, is not the only vehicle for progress. With only a little effort and generosity, anyone can be a catalyst of change.