Hello, my name is Daniel Burns. 

I am an alumni of the  International Studies program at BGSU and a Peace Corps volunteer in Tovuz, Azerbaijan. I have been working with several local organizations here in Tovuz to have small clubs for kids, similar to an after school program. During the school year I work at an “Internat” school (a school where several of the children’s families can not afford to take care of them so the school provides food and housing for the kids for the school year.) where I teach computer classes, sports and help English teachers. 

The organizations here and some of the other Peace Corps volunteers here in the area are putting together a summer camp for the kids. We have 4 local Peace Corps Volunteers that are all in different communities in the Tovuz Region. Our goal is to get 8-10 kids from each of our communities and use these organizations’ facilities in the regional center. We will bring kids from all over the region together and teach them about Diversity, Leadership, Sportsmanship, Gender Equality, and Critical Thinking as well as foster better communication and collaboration between the youth of this region. In the past other Peace Corps volunteers have done summer camps for kids in the regional center but it only included kids from this city community. This year we hope that by including 4 different communities, which include small villages, we will spread and increase the impact of the camp. We have several adult Azeri counterparts that will be in charge of the logistics and help with translating. We are also getting help from several university students and recent high school graduates who we will train as counselors and will help lead the activities with the children. 

All of the Azeri counterparts we have been working with are focused on sustainability and want to make sure that camps like this continue long after Peace Corps is gone. I myself have only been in Azerbaijan for 8 months but I have already seen first hand the difference camps like these make out in the regions far from the well-developed capitol of Baku. The so called “Soviet” learning style of repetition is very effective at teaching a certain topic but from my experience it hinders a child from thinking for themselves and it often leads to the idea that there is only one right answer and they shouldn’t think outside the box. These types of camps really foster those critical thinking skills that are so important for scholarships, university applications and so many other opportunities that will be important for these children’s futures. 

This camp will last three weeks in late July and early August. July 23rd through July 27th will be focused on diversity throughout the world and here in Azerbaijan. Each day of the week we will be discussing a different region of the world and the major cultures of those regions as well as one extreme minority group in each region i.e.: the Hmong of south east Asia. The last day of this week will have a considerable amount of time set aside to talk about diversity within Azerbaijan such as the Lezgi, Avar, and Talysh minority groups.

July 30th through August 3rd will be focused on Gender Equality and Critical Thinking. The first three days of the week will be focused on gender equality: Monday will talk about all the achievements and contributions women have made throughout history; Tuesday will be focused on women’s rights in the Muslim world; and Wednesday will be focused on opportunities for women in Azerbaijan and around the world. The last two days will be focused on critical thinking skills but in a more formal capacity such as a formal presentation and discussions as the whole three weeks will have a focus on building critical thinking skills.

The last week of camp August 6th though 10th will be focused on Democracy, Environment, Health, Sportsmanship, and Leadership. This week will have a different topic every day and we are trying to find guest speakers for every topic throughout the camp. 

Each day of camp will have a speaker, a lesson pertaining to the topic of the day, a discussion with the kids/activity about the topic, a high intensity game (either a sport or a game where the kids get to run around), and a low intensity game (a small group activity that will usually involve critical thinking skills), a “debrief” talking to the kids about what they learned and how they felt the day went, and a “cool down” activity so the kids are returning home relaxed and ready for a good nights rest so they can be ready for a long day of camp the next day. The order of the activities will be based on the schedule of the speaker, weather, and availability of facilities. That being said we will try to keep the schedule as consistent as possible because daily routine has been shown to increase children’s attention spans and helps them retain more information. 

The camp will have permission slips/applications and will be advertised by Peace Corps volunteers and their counterparts. Preference will be shown to young girls because the organizations here feel that if there is not a female majority girls will not attend. This is another reason this camp and the gender equality topics are important for these young girls and boys to have, not only the ones from the city but also from the villages. 

I have been trying to raise money locally but I don’t believe we will reach our goal from local support alone so I started a fundraiser on Facebook that allows anyone to donate. At this point we just need a push over the edge, the funds needed for the camp are just under 1000 USD but we only need about 200$ more at this point. Any support you can give is greatly appreciated and will be sure to make a huge impact on the lives of these young students.

In Leadership, Friendship, and Service

Danny Burns PCV Azerbaijan 2011-2013
dtburninator@gmail.com