Global Camps Africa - December 2007

December 2007 - Our 26th Camp

We have now had 26 camp sessions with nearly 3,200 campers. We started a second camp, in association with God's Golden Acre, which has taken off on its own, after a very brief infancy.

Girls in PFDs donated by Camp Tawingo

We had our first Board visit to South Africa. Four of the nine Board members of Global Camps Africa and our development director, Jean White, back for the second time at her own expense, spent 12 exiting and emotional days visiting funders and potential funders in Johannesburg, one of the orphanages we work with, Camp Sizanani, our flagship camp, God's Golden Acre, our current site at The Bekker School, and the site we used for the majority of our camps, at The Retreat, and then a few days in Cape Town to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was kept incarcerated for 27 years, and some of the local important sites in that beautiful and interesting city. Even though most of the board has been involved with us since the beginning and knows our operations well, the joy of visiting was as great as that of the many near strangers who come to camp and marvel at the joy, enthusiasm, zest for learning, all accompanied by the often extreme hardship from which the children come. Nothing beats a face to face encounter and getting to know the campers well.

Some highlights since the September camp: We had 134 campers in December, along with 4 Peace Corps Volunteer counselors, Tia and Mike Pearse and their three sons, all from Camp Tawingo in Canada, Kimberly Henry from Canada, Bernie Agnew ( a repeat from January), Orla McDonagh, and Maire ni Ghibolain, three marvelous counselors from Barretstown, a Hole in the Wall camp in Ireland, and Genevieve Greeley, a repeat counselor (December 2006) from Utah.

Camp started with a big surprise. Five days before camp, we got word that we would have 1500 tickets to The Lion King available to us. The production, in an 1800-seat theater built for the musical, is a first-rate production. Thanks to the local directors, Michelle, Jackie and Mbali, transportation for 1,500 was found. I didn't ask how! I expect they recruited a lot of favors from friends.

The former campers and the first-time campers and counselors all shared this thrilling matinee performance. The counselors said that watching the children be enthralled by the show was more fun than the wonderful show itself.

Some of the campers asked whether this very upscale mall was where camp was going to be held.

We have learned that The Retreat, a beautiful 1000-acre facility, ready to move into with accommodations for 300, is up for sale. We expect the price to be very reasonable and attractive for purchase. You might hear from us again about this. It would give us a permanent home, a place to hold events for other groups and to generate income, and a place where we would not have to move from after every camp. Our architect, Bob Adams, is coming over in late March to see what renovations and additions will be needed.

The prospect is very exciting for us. Think of which building would look nice with your name (or the name of a relative or friend) on it!

We are changing our camp schedule a bit. Instead of six camp sessions a year, one after the other, we have decided to hold a boys camp and a girls camp at the same time, three times a year--two in March, two in September, and two in December. There is a certain irony of not having a "summer camp" in July or August, but those are the coldest months in South Africa, with night time temperatures dropping to freezing. Not only is swimming not a possibility then, but parents are sometimes reluctant to have their children go to camp for fear of their catching the flu.

The added benefit to our South African staff is not having to finish one camp and then having another one looming on the immediate horizon. Not only will this give them time to plan and train, it will also give South African counselors an opportune time to enter into an exchange program for camp counselors coming to the US and Canada.

Director Jackie Makgato getting a surprise birthday cake from the kitchen staff

Other exciting news is that we are talking to a much larger organization about doing joint programming with them and using camp as a way of complementing what they are currently doing in four countries. They operate in 25 African countries and see us as a possible partner in many of them.

While it is still uncertain, we are hoping that the mother-daughter team of Vicki and Bekah Wingert, the editors of our first DVD back in early 2004, will be able to free themselves to come to the March camp to do a new one. They are both professionals in the field and we would welcome their involvement.

In the meantime, we invite your continued investment in the camps. It is enough to see the joy of the campers, but to see their continued involvement in the six after-camp Saturday Clubs makes me realize the power of the camp experience. These are not children and youth who want a one-time, feel-good experience They are serious about their futures and want to better themselves through work and perseverance, both great life skills to encourage in young people.

Counselors gather after the buses leave with the campers.

We have our first camper coming to the US on a full scholarship for three years through the farsightedness of Rist Bonnefond, headmaster of the Kents Hills School in Maine. The Academic Dean, David Pearson, joined me and local elementary school Deputy Principal, Alroy Plaatjes, in December to interview candidates for the scholarship. We met several whom we thought would be excellent, and selected Abigail, a 10th grader who will go to a Maine camp for a short time before entering her sophomore year at Kents Hill.

We hope that this will be the harbinger of things to come and, even though it is outside our immediate mission, we are very proud to be associated with it and very honored at our association with a fine school and their beneficence.

I will be representing Global Camps Africa in getting the Advocate for Youth Award from SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Provide the Edge), a powerful and focused organization that pairs financially needy children with the proper camp for them. The award is for Advocate for Youth, and has been given in the past to Hillary Clinton and the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, among others. For those interested, the dinner is on Thursday, March 13 at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City. We can get tickets for the discounted price of $225 each. I would love it if you could come.

Finally, if you have not yet registered at iGive.com, please do so. For a minimal effort (registration), you can benefit us through your on-line purchases from some 600 merchants--and with no additional cost to you. Take a look. It is an effortless way to give.

Also, please consider automatic monthly giving. We can charge your credit card and, for a small monthly amount, your gift can make a real difference. Remember, it only takes $500 to fund a camper for a camp session and a year of Saturday Kids Clubs. We depend on you and are most appreciative for anything you can do.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Best wishes and thanks for your investment in children.

Phil

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Thursday, 28 August 2008