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Dear Friends of WorldCamps,
You deserve a more official report, but this is more in the form of a narrative of our first camping program in Africa.
(An article in The Christian Science Monitor article captured some of the achievements of camp but I want to give you more details of the 10 days of camp plus the week of training. In case you missed it, the link is: http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0203/p07s01-woaf.html)
STAFF TRAINING
The most underestimated part of camp is staff training; particularly with a staff where everyone is new. We had the great advantage of having one of the world's preeminent staff trainers, Michael Brandwein, give us three days of his time. We could not have achieved the same results without him.
On December 28, the staff met in the Soweto parking lot of HIVSA, our South African partner, and played group games before we ever drove to the training site. The 10 American and 12 South African staff were a team before we left. There was quick bonding.
The drive to the training site (different from the camp site, which we couldn't get into until the day camp started) was an easy hour and a quarter. It's a beautiful site, in the hills at about 1500 feet elevation. The buildings where we stayed are very nice and have spacious 4-person rooms with one bathroom for every two rooms. The training room is a nice size, maybe 30 by 15 feet, with a view out to the hills.
We had a wonderful 3 days with Michael. He is SO impressive and expert as a trainer. He just took charge, got us up and running and even composed a camp song for us.
His sessions were brilliant and dealt with giving praise, learning to listen, how to be an effective leader, and things like that. We had a bunch of games between Michael and Lou Bergholz, a trainer on contract with Hole in the Wall Gang Association, who joined us for 3 days on his way to start a camp for them in Malawi.
There was an intimacy that developed while Michael was leading events and a sadness when he and Lou left on December 30. I continued with a couple of good things myself although all I could hope for was to prevent a crash.
The 10 South African staff new to camping showed superb potential although it was also nice to start out with 10 experienced American and 2 experienced South African staff to set the tone. Lots of uninhibited acting and singing, and friendships, so much so that, on New Year's Eve, only five elected to go home for the day off.
The weather was superb (about 80-85 degrees during the days, with low humidity) and we finally took a break and got some swimming and beach volleyball in on New Year's Eve Day.
C A M P E R S
Camp started with a Director's nightmare. We had the names and birthdates of 62 boys in advance. We ended up with 97, but 35 of them appeared, complete with parental consents and camper assents, at the bus.
Once the boys arrived, Lynn and Michelle (my South African co-Director) were scurrying to sort boys out by birthday into room groups.
Oh well, the boys didn't know it was supposed to be smoother and the counselors, having just arrived at the camp site an hour before the campers, were in shock anyway at having to discover the new territory.
Day 1 is always my least favorite day and this one was the worst, but only for me and I got over it when I saw how beautifully the staff adapted without a complaint.
We had about 35 boys from a largely squatter area of Soweto and the others from Soweto proper. Soweto, population unknown but estimated at between 1.5 and 4 million, is a former Black Township and one in which the Blacks were allowed to live after being uprooted from their homes elsewhere under the apartheid regime. It has stayed a largely Black area, but the conditions have improved in some parts of it.
The squatter areas are quite poor, however, and some of the boys from there reported eating only every other day. Thus, we were not surprised by the early gargantuan amounts of food consumed.
The warm weather helped make swimming the most popular activity. It was amazing to see children who arrived as non-swimmers leave in just 10 days able to swim. Even more exciting was to see these largely neglected children, used to fending for themselves, be able to give up their street smarts and be cuddly and young again or, perhaps, for the first time.
The program kept them quite busy, but I had to have a talk with the oldest group, the 15 year olds, to remind them that they gave up the freedom to have their own unregimented life for the variety and fullness of what we have to offer at camp and, while we would reluctantly let them return home early if they chose, we would have to if they insisted on disregarding the camp schedule.
We had one boy leave camp on the morning of Day 3 and get a bus/taxi home before we found him. We sent three more 15 year-olds home on Day 5 when they went for a 90 minute walk outside of camp without permission. Sending them home cleared the air and things went beautifully after that.
Big changes were visible in the younger groups. Initially uncertain, they loved the relationships with all the counselors, Black and White, and liked to exam my arm hair and cuddle up to it. They loved games and singing, and we often played 5 Buzz at the table, where you say, "buzz," on 5 or a multiple of 5, or a number (e.g., 53) with a five in it. They also liked slapping hands round the table in a game in which they all said, "Knock, knock: Who's that policeman come to get the letter for you?" with each syllable being a slap on the hand to your left with the person getting "you" having the privilege to shoot (i.e., eliminate from the game) a player of his choosing.
The songs sounded largely like mining songs with a lead and then a chorus. They are lovely and are sung unaffectedly just to pass the time.
I sat in on a couple of life skills classes and, while most of them were in Zulu, it was interesting how easily the boys entered into the discussion of issues that are not discussed at home or at school, such as what causes HIV/AIDS, sexuality, gender biases, respect, cooperation and teamwork.
In Arts & Crafts, the campers made a giant quilt that will stay on exhibit during camp and then will be hung at the HIVSA main clinic until the next camp. They also made dreamcatchers and paintings and drawings. In Nature they explored and made garlands from the plants and flowers; very unlike what might be acceptable on the streets of Soweto. Jim and Barbara were very impressed with the willingness of boys to participate in theater. Improv skits were done unselfconsciously The boys were all excited about the motions and games and had Jim and Barbara grinning with delight.
We were upset and nervous because one of the boys in the room with whom I ate meals, had to go home because he had persistent congestion and, since he's on HIV meds, they wanted him to be looked at by his doctor in Johannesburg. Happily he returned after just one day's absence (he was allergic to ice cream, which we had as a snack), but it made several of us feel the fragility and uncertainty of life that people at a camp like this can face. The boys in his room had already written get well cards to him and, when he reappeared, they gave them to him.
We were very impressed with the honesty, neatness and cleanliness of the boys. When we suggested a schedule that included showers at Rest Hour, the local staff said that wouldn't work. The boys shower in the morning and at night.
At meals, there was little rowdy noise. The boys talked and had sweet, mellow voices that were more like soulful music to hear. They were very neat and polite at the table. They always saved a place for me and a glass and napkin. They always passed me the condiments first. They always cleaned their places and were upset when there was any residue left from the prior meal (one of our continuing battles). They used their napkins to wipe their plates extra clean. While some of them ate without utensils, they were quite neat about it.
Our color competition (Black and Green) was interesting, but the boys are less into the competition than I would have thought. They would play a soccer game for 90 minutes (the length of our athletics period) and not care much about who won.
Swimming was the most popular activity. The pool was small but serviceable. It's about 17 yards by 10 yards and got even the most hardened, reluctant camper involved. It doesn't hurt that our program director, Landy, was the head of swimming and that "Grandfather" Dale was there; but I think they would have enjoyed it under less favorable conditions as it gave them a tangible achievement to take away from camp.
The counselor staff was wonderfully varied and skilled, which made Lynn and me feel confident for the future, both in their commitment and their skills. The 8 university students from Soweto and the two young men who came from Hoops for Hope, an organization started to encourage the use of basketball to develop positive life skills, are the core of our future. They should be leading the program within a year.
While none of them were paid for this first session, we plan to pay returning South African staff a reasonable wage at future camps and pay new staff less, but give them something (about $100).
One interesting thing is that the boys and the counselors expected an adult from the athletics staff to coach each team and another to referee the games. Thus, at least three of the four staff would be needed for just one game. We tried to have the team captains do the lineups and the substitutions, but the old ways died hard. We'll have to force the staff to take time off and to give the boys an important leadership role.
Saturday (Day 7) was Room Skit Night. What a riot! I think our philosophy at Winnebago has it that evening assembly is a way to calm the boys down from the day and to make the transition to bedtime.
Not here! The evening assembly acts as a stimulant despite our best intentions to make it mellow. The after dinner games usually provided the most relaxed feelings of the evening. The assembly that followed, whether it was counselor or camper stage (talent) night or singing, provided a caffeine-like injection of energy that sent them out of the assembly singing and dancing.
It was an exercise in skiing on the edge. A little bit more and they would have gone flying off the hill. The rooms went from youngest to oldest that particular evening, and provided drum, singing and dancing talent, as well as an uninhibited participation by the audience in joining in, but with respect and not to the detriment of the performers. Lots of clapping and joining in on the choruses and much dancing.
Then, when we thought the whole thing was over, everyone came up, including the counselors, to dance in turn to the beat of the particular group's percussion band which included two outstanding bongo drummers.
The place finally quieted down about an hour after the show ended.
Parent visiting took place on Day 8 (out of 10) and provided a little drama. We chartered a bus and invited parents and family members to come. There was a big rainstorm in Johannesburg on that Sunday morning and a lot of taxis were not running. We had about 30 families visit (all women except for 1 adult man, the uncle of a camper) and, even though the boys were leaving in just two days, those whose family did not show up, were quite upset for a time.
The food was good, but we had to wash our own dishes in one of four sinks in the passageway that connects the serving area to the dining room. We haven't been thrilled with the cleanliness of the dining room (often not swept after a meal) or the general health standards. But it was a friendly place and provided a good first campsite.
One of the nicest things was working in the office and hearing the sounds of camp -- the cheering, the clapping of support, the squeals of laughter -- and having to think where I am. The sounds were identical to camp in Maine.
Mark Crandall, the head of Hoops for Hope spent three days with us and loved it. He is an American and uses much of the profit from his summer day camp in the Hamptons to finance his work over here and in Zimbabwe. He wants to use HIVSA as a launch for a basketball program in Johannesburg, complete with leagues and life skill development. He trained two superb counselors who were with us.
We can probably tap into the Discovery Channel's Global Education Fund, which provides training and tapes for teachers and groups that can use their life skills tapes effectively. We are planning to use their representative prior to our next training.
There are lots of opportunities for alliances among existing groups. There is also a wonderful willingness among the people and groups I have met to share information and resources. My immediate goal will be to find funding sources to keep our rather ambitious program afloat while working with these other groups, and others now that we are officially on the map as a viable provider of services to youths.
The last two days were beautiful. We prepared the staff for the possibility of acting-out behavior by children facing a return to less than desirable conditions after the bliss of camp, but, happily, these did not come.
We did find a lot of behavior that reinforced our growing feeling of surprise that 10 days can make a significant difference in a young person's attitude.
--The 9 year olds, faced with leaving on Tuesday, told their counselor that they had decided to leave the following Friday.
--The 10 year olds, grouped in the dining room as 9 campers and a counselor around two medium round tables, removed one and huddled around one small table squeezed together.
--A boy on the bus going home asked, "Why are you sending me home?"
--Another boy said, "I don't want to go home. It's been 10 days and no one has shouted at me."
After camp ended, we were approached by people from the Boston Globe and BBC-TV, asking to visit and do a story. We expect visits from them during the March-April camp. We will keep you notified.
The next camp will be for 150 girls from March 27 to April 8, and then four more this year: in June, July, September and December, alternately for boys and girls.
If you were wondering, we need 150 girls one-piece bathing suits; lots of children's story books; board games, such as Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, and Sorry; hundreds of liter/quart size plastic water bottles so each child can have one; baseball-type hats, T-shirts, and about $120,000 to get us through the next three camps. Any of it can be sent to me at the below address as a tax-deductible contribution.
Now that we have a product in place, we can approach the bigger donors for funding, but it takes months. We hope to have longer-term funding in place by the September camp. If you are planning on continuing to support us this year, please don't wait. We need your contribution early to make sure we have funding for the next three camps.
The feedback has been very positive from HIVSA. They are now talking about opening a camp in the rural area of Limpopo Province, where they have health clinics.
I have been contacted by representatives of a Kenya non-governmental agency that is putting together a big plan for AIDS work with orphans and wants us to be a part of it. The US Ambassador from Botswana asked me to submit a proposal that he will present to the Government of Botswana for camps in that country. I think this is just the beginning.
Thank you for your support to date. Without your financial support and your encouragement we would not have gotten to this place. And a special thanks to Lynn for not only being there for me, but for being there with me.
Warm regards,
Phil |
