Living and learning together

On 2 – 6 July 2012 we had our fourth Edu-camp, this time again at Jeffreysbay. We took 6 kids, between the ages 8 and 18 years, for 5 days to the Duhab house. The first hour or so, was a little awkward, when the kids still did not know each other. Eating together that first lunch was strange. The kids did not know how to sit and eat together around a table. They were nervous so a lot of giggling took place. Bongiwe, Ryan and I tried to model good table manners and also that you were suppose to talk around a subject during this time. (The fun thing is that the three of us, just love to talk about stuff. We have such similar interests.) During dinner it already went much much better. We discovered that not one of them knew what had happened in 1994, so Bongiwe told them the story. Slowly, over the next few days the kids not only started to talk to each other during meal times, but also to us. It was amazing for me to see that process of gaining confidence in voicing their thoughts.

Except for eating, which they enjoyed most of course, we also had reading sessions, maths sessions, comprehension sessions and times of art. In the afternoons we took them first to the library and then to the beach, (weather permitting). One day, we had tennis championships on the pavement. In the evenings we had a variety of activities.  One evening we played games. We discovered that they've never played monopoly. We taught them and they loved it. Another evening Ryan taught drama. We had so much fun watching their own plays. We discovered that Kimberley was a country :-) On another night we had a bonfire, where we taught them how to make “stokbrood” (bread on a stick) over the fire. And one evening we watched Sister Act II together.

As you can see this camp is more than just a lesson in reading or maths. We zoom in on the child as a whole. A highlight for me was when Global Challenge invited us for a meeting with a local ministry group called Ambassadors. During the introductions we asked our kids to show something that they are good in. One boy, Steven, (a very shy boy) surprised us by doing the moon dance so very, very well. We waited about a minute before he had the courage to do it, but when he did, it was fantastic. We had learned during the previous days, that we must just wait and then Steven would open up and surprise us. And he did. In looking, we discovered something special in each child.

Everybody was sad Friday, when the Acvv van came to pick us up and take as back home. We had a lovely time together. I believe that we have laid a good foundation to continue building into these kids' lives.