Oh! The Places You'll GLOW: Future Day

Camp GLOW teaches learners a lot about leadership and character, but it also provides them with an opportunity to realize their potential and plan for their futures. On Leadership Day, learners are introduced to new possibilities—career options, university studies, political activism and life in the big city. But unlike classroom learning, which offers education in the form of books and lectures, Future Day gives kids a first-hand look at all that lies ahead.


Zoo Park

Campers start the day with a trip to Parliament. For most learners this is their first time in Windhoek, and seeing where decisions about their country are made is powerful stuff. Learners march up the same steps as their representatives, and sit in the same chairs as the president and his council. The experience makes what once felt far away and impersonal, instead feel very tangible and real.


Learners Line Up In Front of Parliament


National Council


Inside Parliament


Zumbureeke, the Littlest Learner, Sitting in the President's Chair


New Friends. Future Leaders.

Afterwards, they tour Polytech University. For these kids who have spent years in hostel schools with inadequate classrooms without enough texts books, desks or supplies, seeing a fully-accredited college is a truly eye-opening experience.


GLOW Goes to Polytech


Campers Filing in to a Polytech Classroom


Inside the Classroom. Kids Were Amazed by the Technology and Resources Students at Polytech had Access to.

Polytech’s library shelves are full of books. Their lab has actual computers. Classrooms have new desks and enough chairs for everyone. And learners here come from every part of the country. It’s incredible to see how the experience of walking though a university helps campers to feel like the possibility of attending one could indeed become a reality. They asked honest questions, and walked wide-eyed through the strange hallways, which we hope one day, some of them will call home.


Campers on Their Way to the Library


Inside Polytech Library. This is the Tallest Building Many Learners Have Ever Seen.

In the afternoon, professionals from across Namibia came together at Camp GLOW for a career panel, where learners could explore new possibilities and prepare for their futures. It was a chance to ask questions and seek advice from nurses, pilots, tour guides and teachers. Campers wanted to know about courses of study, income and (believe it or not) health benefits, too.


A Peace Corps Employee Talks to Learners About HIV/AIDS Work


Two Reporters from The Namibian Talked about Careers in Journalism


Everyone Was Excited to Talk to the Pilots!

For learners who have never left their village, never voyaged beyond their region or to their country’s capital, Future Day is about visualizing their potential and realizing their dreams. It’s about exposing them to possibilities, and about helping them prepare to be the future leaders of not just their schools and communities, but of Namibia as well.