About Camp Kwizera:
Camp Kwizera is a week-long summer day camp held in Stanford, CA that empowers youth to engage in community service and develop as leaders. Kwizera means "hope" in Kinyarwanda (the language of Rwanda), and we believe that building the next generation of social justice leaders is the best way to create hope and change in our world.
Camp Kwizera is unique in that it pairs global learning with local service. By involving campers in fun, educational programming each morning, we introduce them to current social issues, providing global context to the afternoon's service activity. Following the educational programming and a break for interactive arts and recreation, campers go on field trips to volunteer at local non-profit organizations, empowering them to make a difference in their community and draw connections between local and global issues. We also incorporate a range of other activities, including arts, sports, and drama. The goal of Camp Kwizera is to empower middle school students to become community leaders and decision-makers early in life and to connect them to compelling global social justice issues. These students then move through high school and college knowing they have a community of like-minded peers, and are poised to pursue positions of global health and social justice leadership.
Camp Kwizera is for youth in middle school (entering grades 6 - 9 as of the fall after camp) from throughout the mid-Peninsula, California. Several week-long sessions are held each summer at Stanford University. Enrollment is limited to 20 campers per session to maintain a 5:1 camper to counselor ratio. In 2011, four sessions of Camp Kwizera will be offered between June 13 and July 8: June 13 - 17, June 20 - 24, June 27 - July 1, and July 5 - 8. Camp runs from 9:00am to 3:30pm each day.
"I came out of camp feeling much more confident! It felt so great to help people... that (personally) is just a gift in itself...I have truly learned how to make a difference, and not many camps do what we did!"
- Sarah, 2009 and 2010 camper
View a Sample Schedule:
HEALTH: Campers will learn about the challenges that low-income individuals face in accessing quality health care in our community. We take a field trip to Arbor Free Clinic at the Stanford Medical School, which provides basic health care services at no charge to underserved populations in the South Bay and fosters the clinical development of current and future medical students. Campers will role play real clinical cases facilitated by current medical students, and will help Arbor volunteers create health information resources for Arbor's patients.
ENVIRONMENT: Campers will join up with Acterra, an environmental education and action non-profit, to learn about habitat preservation and restoration at Arastradero Preserve, a beautiful mixture of rolling savanna grassland and broadleaf evergreen forest. Campers will restore habitat, install native plants, remove invasive species, and work together to increase biodiversity on the Preserve.
POVERTY: Campers will help individuals and families break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. They will volunteer with InnVision, a Silicon Valley provider of housing and services for homeless families and individuals. Over 1,400 clients are served per day. Campers will be volunteering on a range of jobs at the shelter, including organizing food and supplies, gardening, and brightening the living facilities for families.
MICROFINANCE: Campers will have the chance to make a loan to an entrepreneur living in poverty in the developing world through Kiva, the online microfinance lending non-profit. Campers will also partner with FACE AIDS, learning about our microcredit programs for HIV+ and HIV-affected individuals living in rural Rwanda, and helping us to create web profiles of some of these individuals.
YOUTH ACTIVISM: Campers will make a "blueprint for action" — a plan for continued engagement in social justice work after Camp Kwizera ends. They will also hear from young leaders doing social justice work in an exciting panel discussion. Campers will present their plans and new knowledge and skills to family and friends at a final celebration.
Meet Our 2011 Camp Kwizera Counselors:
Jessie Kruse
Growing up near Chicago, Illinois, Jessie developed a love for the excitement and energy that city-life provides. After moving to Raleigh, North Carolina, though, she has grown accustomed to southern hospitality, community involvement, and warm winters. Jessie went to North Carolina State University with the desire to pursue clinical research, but after traveling to Guatemala, she developed a love and passion for the people of La Limonada, one of the poorest communities in Guatemala City. Upon returning to the U.S., Jessie has used the joy of the people in La Limonada to propel her towards finishing her degree in microbiology this past spring with the plan to use her live in service of others. Jessie looks forward to taking this first step in this life's pursuit through her involvement with Camp Kwizera!
Alexis Aiello
Alexis was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ventured to sunny southern California to attend Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. After graduating from LMU in 2010 with a degree in Biology, Alexis made her way to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her Master's in Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, Alexis' graduate studies involve interdisciplinary work drawing on the perspectives of anthropology, economics, law, history, philosophy, and more. Her course work also focuses on global health, allowing her to learn more about the determinants of health and interventions used to better health. This summer, she looks forward to being a part of the Camp Kwizera team!
Sarah Jacobs
Sarah is a recent graduate from the University of Denver with a Bachelors degree in International Relations and minors in Spanish and Communications. While in school, she spent a semester studying abroad in Grenada, Spain. Before joining Camp Kwizera this summer, Sarah is working in event planning at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and loves it! Sarah grew up in Cleveland, OH, with four brothers. After Camp Kwizera, she is looking forward to traveling the world, volunteering, and pursuing a career in non-profit development.
Jennifer Nguyen
Jennifer is from Boston, MA, and is a rising sophomore at Mills College in Oakland, CA, where she is majoring in Sociology and Anthropology. In high school, Jennifer was the co-president of the China Care Club, and worked with the China Care Foundation to provide funds for orphans who needed medical care to enter the adoption system in Beijing, China. Last summer, she volunteered for Global Volunteer Network - Vietnam, working with children who had been exposed to Agent Orange. After graduation, Jennifer plans to enter medical school and pursue a career in global health equity.
Fees and Forms:
2011 Camp Fee: $350 per child per session
For the final session, July 5 - July 8, the price per child is $300, as this session is only four days because of the July 4th holiday.
Please make your payment online when you register your child. Alternatively, you can mail a check made out to "FACE AIDS" to: FACE AIDS, P.O. Box 46, Palo Alto, CA 94302.
As Camp Kwizera is a program of FACE AIDS, a 501(c)3 non-profit, a portion of the camp fee is tax-deductible. You will be issued a tax receipt at the end of camp.
Financial Aid:
FACE AIDS aims to make Camp Kwizera accessible to children from all socio-economic backgrounds. As such, if you are unable to pay in full or in part but would like for your child to attend, please email us at campkwizera@faceaids.org to discuss your situation and we will do our best to include your child.
Required Forms:
The following forms are required to attend Camp Kwizera. They should be mailed to Camp Kwizera, P.O. Box 46, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or scanned and emailed to campkwizera@faceaids.org as soon as possible.
Register:
Registration for Camp Kwizera 2011 is now open. Please fill out the form below.
Camp Kwizera is open to children entering grades 6 through 9 as of fall 2011. We will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Enrollment is limited to 20 children per session, and registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.