Today's (7/10) campamento (camp) began as any other. All 75 children were outside on the cancha (court); standing in lines as they sang the national anthem and rose the flag. Afterwards, was a series of short--but very fun--activities. One of those activities was led by Maria, Sonya, and I...the Macarena! We had just spent that morning trying to teach the dance to Sonya. For a dedicated church-going woman, she's got moves! However, when it came time to teach the kids, they seemed to enjoy watching us dance a little more than participating in the dance, but it was still fun!
Since it was Wednesday, my group was in the sports area called Campeones de Diversion (Champions of Fun). The kids got into two teams and participated in a relay race that included the egg and spoon race, three-legged race, sac race, and some other race than involved standing on buckets (not really sure how to explain that further). It was so funny seeing the kids attempt all the races; some of them clearly take it more seriously than others. Four of the neighborhood boys (14, 14, 17, and 22 yrs old) that regularly volunteer at the community center helped facilitate the games. Time flew by fast, but luckily, we were able to squeeze in a little dance practice before the campamento ended for the day.
What made today so different from the rest was the camp in the afternoon. Today was the start of the mother's camp which is Wednesday through Friday of this week from 2:30-4:30pm. This brand new camp offered to the women in the community had about 15 mothers ranging from the ages of 23 to 60 years. The campamento started off with some of the same games and activities we did with the children that day which made it even more silly and fun. However, soon after we got to the serious stuff. The same neighborhood volunteers from the children's camp were also here for the mother's camp. They led a short lecture followed by an open discussion on HIV/AIDS statistics and prevention. The women shared what they knew on the topic which was a welcomed perspective that complimented the hard facts. Then, we were all handed condoms and told the do's and do not's on how to use them properly. At this point, it was hard not to laugh when one of the mothers attempted to put the condom on a wooden penis. The women were a combination of wisdom, sass, and inappropriate jokes. For the community center's first day of their first ever mother's campamento, I would say it was a huge success. It will be fun to participate in the other activities the center has planned for this week.
The next day (Thursday 7/11), my group for the children's campamento was in the creativity area called Soy Capaz de Crear (I Am Able to Create). The kids were making muñecas (dolls), mariposas (butterflies), and abejas (bees) out of toilet paper rolls. I love the center's use of everyday items for the kids to create crafts with. It is both creative and environmentally friendly! After the children's campamento ended at 12, we had a couple hours before the mother's camp at 2:30pm. The activity for the day was a lot less serious than the day before, but none the less useful. We were learning how to sew a bow to clip in hair. The mother's picked out their ribbon materials and Belkis--one of the center's workers--led the workshop. For a girl who always chose playing outside with a soccer ball over playing inside with dolls, I was totally out of my element. My bow came out horrendous. However, one of the center's workers--Carmen--saw my struggles and made me a new one! Que chulo!
Friday was the last day of summer camp for both the children and mothers. Today both campamentos had a special surprise: the pool! At the children's campamento, all three of the groups presented their song and dance. I was excited to see the Zumba routine that my kids had been preparing for all week.
Afterwards, all 75 kids went for a quiet, tranquil dip in the pool. Sike! It was madness! There were kids all over the place; jumping into the pool; splashing all about. It looked like so much fun that I just had to join them!
Each year, the children receive a memento that encompasses their experience at the camp. Unfortunately, this year the community center was not allocated enough funds to cover the cost. However, Maria, Joan, and I weren't going to let this year be any different. After calculating pesos into dollars, we realized that 1500 pesos could be split between the three of us pretty reasonably. I was so happy we did because when we handed the memento to the kids, they just lit up trying to find themselves. You might have guessed it already because this year's memento was a picture of each camp group with the teachers and volunteers. A picture (of my picture) is soon to come! They were so fun to work with.
In the afternoon, all the mothers came for their special pool day. I had changed into my dry clothes after swimming with the kids, so I had already decided that I wasn't going to swim again in the afternoon. Luckily for me, I didn't have a choice. The neighborhood volunteers along with Joan picked me up and threw me into the pool (will my clothes still on!). The music was blaring, the mothers were dancing, and the water felt so cool in the hot sun. I was secretly glad I got thrown in. However, my incident began a long line of similar attempts. One of the volunteers chased a worker onto the roof, another worker attempted to lock herself in a room, and a third--Pao--surrendered and walked herself over to the pool after realizing that fighting back wasn't worth the effort. Honestly, I had so much more fun than I was expecting to have this day. It has also made me appreciate some of the things I take for granted. For instance, in Florida, I have access to pools and beaches whenever I feel like it. Even so, I don't go that often. However, seeing how excited the mothers were, I realized that this wasn't something they got to do very often. This really was a special treat for them and I was glad to be a part of it.
*Photos courtesy of Joseph Jerome
Since it was Wednesday, my group was in the sports area called Campeones de Diversion (Champions of Fun). The kids got into two teams and participated in a relay race that included the egg and spoon race, three-legged race, sac race, and some other race than involved standing on buckets (not really sure how to explain that further). It was so funny seeing the kids attempt all the races; some of them clearly take it more seriously than others. Four of the neighborhood boys (14, 14, 17, and 22 yrs old) that regularly volunteer at the community center helped facilitate the games. Time flew by fast, but luckily, we were able to squeeze in a little dance practice before the campamento ended for the day.
What made today so different from the rest was the camp in the afternoon. Today was the start of the mother's camp which is Wednesday through Friday of this week from 2:30-4:30pm. This brand new camp offered to the women in the community had about 15 mothers ranging from the ages of 23 to 60 years. The campamento started off with some of the same games and activities we did with the children that day which made it even more silly and fun. However, soon after we got to the serious stuff. The same neighborhood volunteers from the children's camp were also here for the mother's camp. They led a short lecture followed by an open discussion on HIV/AIDS statistics and prevention. The women shared what they knew on the topic which was a welcomed perspective that complimented the hard facts. Then, we were all handed condoms and told the do's and do not's on how to use them properly. At this point, it was hard not to laugh when one of the mothers attempted to put the condom on a wooden penis. The women were a combination of wisdom, sass, and inappropriate jokes. For the community center's first day of their first ever mother's campamento, I would say it was a huge success. It will be fun to participate in the other activities the center has planned for this week.
The next day (Thursday 7/11), my group for the children's campamento was in the creativity area called Soy Capaz de Crear (I Am Able to Create). The kids were making muñecas (dolls), mariposas (butterflies), and abejas (bees) out of toilet paper rolls. I love the center's use of everyday items for the kids to create crafts with. It is both creative and environmentally friendly! After the children's campamento ended at 12, we had a couple hours before the mother's camp at 2:30pm. The activity for the day was a lot less serious than the day before, but none the less useful. We were learning how to sew a bow to clip in hair. The mother's picked out their ribbon materials and Belkis--one of the center's workers--led the workshop. For a girl who always chose playing outside with a soccer ball over playing inside with dolls, I was totally out of my element. My bow came out horrendous. However, one of the center's workers--Carmen--saw my struggles and made me a new one! Que chulo!
Friday was the last day of summer camp for both the children and mothers. Today both campamentos had a special surprise: the pool! At the children's campamento, all three of the groups presented their song and dance. I was excited to see the Zumba routine that my kids had been preparing for all week.
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Afterwards, all 75 kids went for a quiet, tranquil dip in the pool. Sike! It was madness! There were kids all over the place; jumping into the pool; splashing all about. It looked like so much fun that I just had to join them!
Each year, the children receive a memento that encompasses their experience at the camp. Unfortunately, this year the community center was not allocated enough funds to cover the cost. However, Maria, Joan, and I weren't going to let this year be any different. After calculating pesos into dollars, we realized that 1500 pesos could be split between the three of us pretty reasonably. I was so happy we did because when we handed the memento to the kids, they just lit up trying to find themselves. You might have guessed it already because this year's memento was a picture of each camp group with the teachers and volunteers. A picture (of my picture) is soon to come! They were so fun to work with.
In the afternoon, all the mothers came for their special pool day. I had changed into my dry clothes after swimming with the kids, so I had already decided that I wasn't going to swim again in the afternoon. Luckily for me, I didn't have a choice. The neighborhood volunteers along with Joan picked me up and threw me into the pool (will my clothes still on!). The music was blaring, the mothers were dancing, and the water felt so cool in the hot sun. I was secretly glad I got thrown in. However, my incident began a long line of similar attempts. One of the volunteers chased a worker onto the roof, another worker attempted to lock herself in a room, and a third--Pao--surrendered and walked herself over to the pool after realizing that fighting back wasn't worth the effort. Honestly, I had so much more fun than I was expecting to have this day. It has also made me appreciate some of the things I take for granted. For instance, in Florida, I have access to pools and beaches whenever I feel like it. Even so, I don't go that often. However, seeing how excited the mothers were, I realized that this wasn't something they got to do very often. This really was a special treat for them and I was glad to be a part of it.
*Photos courtesy of Joseph Jerome
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