On Saturday, August 15, 2015, Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation joined Inter-African Committee USA (IAC-USA) in the first camp for children against female genital mutilation. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the organization’s U.S. office hosted the camp where both girls and boys attended with their parents in Germantown, Maryland.
Speaking to the children was the President and Founder of Global Woman P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, Angela Peabody. She told the children, “You are all American citizens because you were born here. Your parents are from other countries but you are Americans so if anyone threatens you to make you do something that you do not know about, you need to know that you are protected by the laws of America. FGM is illegal in the United States, and if anyone tries to do it to you, they will be arrested and sent to jail.”
The President of IAC-USA stated, “Facts have proven that during summer time or when school is closed, most of the harmful practices take place. This summer, to further educate our children about harmful practices, IAC- USA has organized this one day summer camp, “Vacances Sans Excision””
The children ranged in ages from 20 months old to 17 years old. They learned how to beat the drums, jump hopscotch, dance, sing, do artwork, play sports and they learned both American and African history. At the end of the event, the children were asked what they had learned from the camp. One of the boys said he learned that FGM is wrong, while another equated the work against FGM to what Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King did. According to their answers, the message had reached the children, and they had soaked it up like sponges.