Paper Flowers and Empowerment: A look inside a Chicas summer camp session

The power and impact that inclusive and culturally responsive spaces have on Latina youth is invaluable to their growth. The Chicas Youth Development Program at Adelante Mujeres strives to uncover the potential within each Latina youth participant so that they can be, and achieve, whatever it is they want.

For Latina-identifying youth, truly inclusive and empowering spaces can be hard to find and are sometimes non-existent in primarily white institutions. Top that off with traditional Latinx family structures where gender roles are pushed heavily, and you have a recipe for untapped potential leaders. 

The Chicas Program is flipping all of that on its head so that Latina youth learn they are more than what society says they must be.

So, how do you do that work with youth? How do you create connections, build leadership skills and confidence that ultimately produces empowered youth?

In our Chicas sessions and summer camps, we start with daily check-ins so that students recognize their feelings as they are entering the space, allowing them to connect to one another and discover that they are not alone in these experiences.

It can also look like a fun crafting activity, like paper flowers, that connects to Latinx culture, building a sense of pride in their culture instead of shame or isolation.

Now, imagine activities like those for an entire school year. Imagine these experiences multiplied. The result is self-worth, belonging, and empowerment. The result is more Latina leaders empowered to be who they want to be. When nurtured and given a place to grow, bloomed flowers are the result.

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A snapshot of the 2021 Chicas summer camps:
Photo credit: Sarah Arnoff Yeoman