Dear Friends,
It is a great pleasure for
me to write this letter, in which I would like to sum up some results of Camp
UNITY. It has been a week since Camp UNITY was over, but we still get
positive replies and “thank you” words from our campers and their parents.
During these days each of Camp UNITY staff members has heard a lot of stories
connected with this camp and every time there was something new to hear from
every camper and that fact that these stories contained only good words
impressed all of us. All of the kids are amazed that in the camp without Peace Corps
volunteers there was such a high level of English and teaching in an American
way. Most of our staff members are former FLEX students and they know what it
is to live in the United States not from TV and books but from personal
experience. Some of them are graduates of pedagogical institutes, so they know
how to deal with kids and keep them busy.
We can say for sure that this camp complied
with its name because in our camp we had children from all over Ukraine. We had
students from Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kypyansk, Sumy, Konotop, Chernihiv, Kherson,
Donetsk, Horlivka, Poltava, so Camp UNITY united kids from different parts of
the country. The age range was from 12 to 17 years old and even though the age
difference is big and the level of English is different none of the students
felt uncomfortable, we were all one big friendly Camp UNITY family.
Our camp took place not far
from Odessa, and you know that everything in this world happens for a reason,
and this specific place was chosen by us with a special purpose. Not many
children have an opportunity to go to the seaside this year because of the
situation with the Crimea. Our camp gave these students a good chance to learn
useful things, improve their English, swim in the sea and tan at the same time.
We were all impressed by the conditions of living. We all lived in modern
houses with television and refrigerators with cold and hot water in the
showers, which is unusual for Ukraine especially during summer. Food was great,
and four times a day meal was more than enough for every camper.
We tried to make these ten
days the most unforgettable experience for every student, at least this summer.
We had planned everything. The days were full of classes, which had urgent
topics not only for a teenager but also for an adult person. Every camper had
to know how to be a good leader, they found out the rights they have. That is
where the lessons of leadership and human rights helped us. It is also
important for every person to know things about different countries and
communities, about problems people face there and the ways to solve these
problems. That is why we included community improvement and cultural studies in
the course of our camp. This camp was organized for kids who would be able to
change something in the future in our country and two more important skills,
which would be useful for them, were also present during the camp: Project
planning and Debates, because every well-educated person has to know how to
speak in public and how to plan his or her actions.
Our camp was created not
only for studying but also for fun, that is why every day at the camp was
devoted to a specific topic, so called dress up days: Team Color Day,
Inside-Out Day, Sports Day, Nerds Day, Halloween Day, Twins Day and Cartoon/Movie
Day. Every day our camp was full of Hollywood stars, twins, monsters, sportsmen
and nerds. This activity brought up the camp spirit every morning. The team
challenges and social events were “the dessert” of each day. Both the students and
staff members had a lot of fun during Team presentation (name, logo, etc), Team
Web, Balloon Choosing, Creating Your Own Festival, Machine Building, Treasure
Hunt, Rubber Cup and Sherpa Walk. Some of them were hard not only for campers
but also for staff member, but for sure it was a lot of fun for each member of
Camp UNITY.
You can see some pictures of
the camp in the facebook group
or in our group VKontakte
http://vk.com/club68993231
Sincerely,
Bogdan Lapay
The Director of Camp
UNITY-2014
on behalf of Camp UNITY
Family
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий