The December and January camps brought with them new programs that were not only successful, but opened my eyes to the value of program components that might be valuable even if they do not bring the promise of continuity.

The 118 boys and 99 girls at the two camps had no visible alteration of their experience of what camp had to offer or a lessening of their total enjoyment of camp. But, in fact, we had radical (for us) changes in the program.

The six periods of the day saw Nature bow out at the December boys camp and replaced by Nutrition. We had concluded that, instead of being given one hour in Life Skills, nutrition deserved its own place in the program. Covering hygiene, a balanced diet, menu planning, and food preparation, it was hard work for many but the lessons were appreciated. A small anecdotal reference occurred during one class when a counselor brought a peach to give to the instructor in front of the class. As the teacher started to take a bite, the class, almost in unison, called out to wash the peach before eating it.

At the January camp we went further. Arts and Crafts was changed from the variety of one-hour small projects that we have always had, to a focused class of intuitive painting; that is, expressing your feelings in non-representational form through the medium of tempera painting.

Happily, long-time friend, Judith Forst, a painter and teacher from Reston, came to camp for the session. My wife, Lynn, who has taken courses from Judy, helped teach the course, along with three South African instructors who became trained during the camp time frame.

This was quite a jump for children taught to paint flowers, homes, and sunshine. It brought amazing results, including our bringing back paintings to be considered for hanging in a show of Youth Art during March at the Greater Reston Arts Center in Reston, VA.

We were lucky to get a recorder performer and teacher, Daphna Mor, from New York to come over and teach the girls how to play the recorder. Daphna contacted Yamaha and got them to donate 200 recorders.

There was much discussion on the value of bringing someone in for a single camp session and giving the campers the bare basics of playing and then leaving. As you can see from the above photo, the concentration and excitement at the breakthrough of learning the basic vocabulary of this new language of music made us change our minds.

The power that this brought to the personal reserves of self-esteem and self-confidence were very impressive. The girls who played were not people who had even considered playing a musical instrument before. It was simply not a part of what was considered possible in their lives.

By camp's end, they were performing in front of the rest of the camp, in groups of 8 to 10 together, playing "Wimoweh" (The Lion Sleeps Tonight), or "Three Blind Mice." They did this by learning the proper fingering for the notes and by identifying the notes by their proper designated names.

Like so much else at camp, it was a moving experience to see this happen in the short time they were at camp.

We are now asking Yamaha if they can find a volunteer to work with the girls at the Kids Clubs to further their training. We'll see.

• The epiphany that came to me during the January camp was that the strength we are giving the campers is in the form of transformation: we are not changing the circumstances of their lives; we are, rather, giving them the tools to see their lives as possibilities for excellence despite their current circumstances.
• We are opening a second camp, in partnership with God's Golden Acre (GGA), a nonprofit organization in KwaZulu Natal, about 5 hours from our current site. GGA has a lovely facility in Cato Ridge, where it provides foster care for 85 children, has a first-class singing and acting group that has gone on tour in the UK, Germany, and Holland, sponsors over 100 soccer teams in the province, and provides job training for women.

Their idea for camp is to have older youth, ages 16 to 23, at camp, in part to learn life skills and HIV/AIDS prevention, and in part to learn job skills, so when they graduate from high school, they will not become part of the excruciatingly high unemployment rate (about 80%) in the province.

Heather Reynolds, a white South African born in KwaZulu Natal and a fluent Zulu speaker, is the head of GGA. She is an energizer bunny and visionary wrapped up in one. She is a powerful partner and wants to make camp work. I will keep you posted.

The final exciting event for me, personally, at the January camp, was in having older son, Andy, his wife, Laura (the camp doctor), and 4-year old son, Levi, with us. As I was the one with the fewest demands on my time, I got to spend a lot of time with Levi and to watch him interact with the girls. What a delightful experience in every aspect, further emphasizing, once again, the truth of the song, "You've Got to be Taught," from "South Pacific" by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

At Levi's age and outlook, all the 99 campers were potential friends, not girls and not Black. He interacted with them as he would with friends at home, and cried at the end when they were leaving. He was especially close with 11-year old Martha, and the two of them would seek each other out in her free time or when they would watch the netball tournament together.

Just one more validation of the camp experience bringing people closer together without the artificial barriers that adults erect.

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Thanks for your continued support in making this happen.

Warm regards,

Phil