Camp Amandla's First HIV/AIDS Camp

19 August 2008

Hello everyone!

A few weeks ago Camp Amandla successfully launched it first children's HIV/AIDS camp. We took 31 children and 9 staff to Stanford for 10 days of fun, learning, and excitement. It was an incredible experience to watch the children develop and grow over the ten days. They were shy and reserved when we left Cape Town in a big blue city bus but by the time we reached the city limits they were singing and chanting with excitement in the aisles. None of our participants had ever been to camp before and many of them had never left Cape Town before but they took everything in stride and adapted very well to the changes that camp brought.

In my earlier emails I mentioned that it was our intention to take 30 children. That was the plan until two days before camp when I received a phone call from a friend of ours. She is a social worker for our partner organization Home of Hope and she had a 13 year old girl that she thought would really benefit from camp. We squeezed some cabins, made some calls and our number went from 30 to 31. It was a brilliant decision because the girl I picked up on Saturday morning and the girl I dropped off ten days later were very different people. Over the past few years this young lady had experienced every kind of betrayal that one child can handle, she had been sold as a child bride to an elderly man, had sex demanded upon her as the "marital right" of her husband and when she refused she was raped. The marriage soured quickly afterwards and her husband demanded the money he paid for her from the family. Her family was unable to pay and she was thrown out like a piece of trash. A few weeks before camp she came to the attention of Home of Hope and became a ward of the state under the Child Protection Act. When I picked her up from the home early on Saturday morning she was timid, quiet and painfully shy. On the bus ride to camp she sat alone, speaking to no one and didn't not join in for any of the songs or chants. By the second day of camp she was starting to talk and sing and had shown unbelievable enthusiasm for swimming and art class. Over the course of camp this young lady came out of her shell and revealed herself to be a patient leader with charisma and natural presence. The other campers looked up to her and respected her. I am happy to report that she will be a junior counsellor at our next camp.

The real heroes of our first camp were the other staff and camp counsellors. The energy and enthusiasm they showed for every activity was incredible.Ten days is a long camp when half of your staff don't speak the same language as your campers but we made it work with the help of four incredible camp counsellors that acted as translators and leaders for every activity we did. Three of these counsellors came from our partner camp in Johannesburg, Global Camps Africa. Camp Amandla was a huge success because of their enthusiasm, patience, and creativity.

Since camp wrapped up a few weeks ago we have had one follow-up day camp in Dunoon, the township where the majority of our campers live. It was a half day camp that gave us a chance to reconnect with the campers, see how they are progressing and give them a chance to speak about anything that is bothering them with an adult that they trust. The day camp was very successful and we had an incredible turnout, all 31 children were there. We played games, did some arts and crafts activities and did a drug awareness program with them. The kids organized themselves and choreographed little puppet shows to display what they had learned about drugs. It was the first time I had seen the kids take such initiative among themselves.

Our next camp will be kicking off in the beginning of 2009. We are looking to expand our numbers and include some older children as well. We could not have successfully done this camp without the support and encouragement of our friends, family and colleagues. For everyone that has donated we are very grateful for the faith and trust you put in us, I promise you the money and goods were well used and the children truly did benefit from your kindness and compassion.

Thank you once again for your support, I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Best Wishes,
Tricia Persson