Acampamento do Exodo - Juquitiba

Finally - time for a real update! So far I´ve only had time to update via facebook and twitter, as every day has been a frenzy of activity. I am now home alone (with Calvin the cat) and have time to relax. At the moment I want to post about the camp because this is what the majority of the fundraising money went towards. Tomorrow I´ll post a little more about what else has been happening.

The camp was held at the same place as last year, out in Juquitiba, Sao Paulo - over an hour away from Casa Semear in Interlagos. The campsite is ideal for all kinds of activities. It has a big river going all around it with an hour-long jungle trail that´s great for treasure hunts and team games. We took 22 kids from Semear and 10+ leaders. The theme was Moses and the Exodus. I knew five or six of the kids from last year´s camp but there were plenty of new faces because Casa Semear has had a shift in attendance over the past year. We were prepared for another week of horrible damp, cold rain but thankfully every day was dry with glorious sunshine which meant that we could carry out all of the activities that had been planned. The weather determines so much at this kind of camp because you can´t just go indoors and watch a movie when it rains. Thankfully we were able to go on long walks, treasure hunts, obstacle courses and swimming in both the outdoor pool and the river. One day, in a re-enactment of crossing the Red Sea, Robert built a ´bridge´ across the river, made from  two bits of rope. Each kid had to cross the river on the the ropes and try to avoid falling into the river. It was hilarious. The best part came later. After the kids had all made it safely across the river, unbeknown to them, Caio was hiding in the jungle just up the bank with a megaphone. He let out an evil laugh and threatened to come and get them all if they didn´t get back to camp. The kids went crazy and just jumped right in to the river and started a huge water fight. It was hilarious chaos and they loved it!

I also managed to get a little bit of my hip-hop dancing in to the mix! Originally we were going to have a dance competition where the kids choreographed their own dances but after attempting some basic moves we discovered just how uncoordinated they are! Most of the kids don´t get the equivalent of PE as part of their education and so some of their vital physical development is a lacking in certain areas. So, instead I taught them some very basic hip-hop steps and some of the kids - boys and girls -  became quite enthusiastic and practiced for the rest of the week! Interestingly, one of the younger boys at the camp (one of the worst behaved, so I´m told) had seen some street-dance movies at home and had been teaching himself to break-dance. Despite the fact that it was normally quite hard to keep him concentrating on a task, when it came to dancing he was 100% focused and I managed to work with him on slightly more complex routines later on. In return he sat with me for the best part of an hour teaching me how to pronounce some Portuguese properly! It´s incredible how some things can bring people together even when language is a barrier. This little boy has a really tough life - his mum doesn´t want him and he´s been living temporarily with another family close to Semear. His situation is desperate and frustrating but it was amazing to see his determination to be good at something and make the best of himself. Moments like that make it all worth it for me.

Every night we had a big campfire. I think Robert tried to beat his record every night of just how big he could make the fire. Zaq had a guitar and so we sang some songs (in Portuguese and English), roasted marshmallows and had times of devotion and reflection. Some of these moments were really special, and even though I didn´t always understand what was being said, I could sense the atmosphere changing as some of the kids faced their own issues and built up better relationships with one another. One evening around the campfire one of the leaders shared  her testimony. She used to be a crack-addict, living on the streets and stealing to pay for both her habit and her 10 children. She has really turned her life around and now works full time at Casa Elohim - the ABBA rescue house for street boys. Much of what she said resonated with the kids and gave them inspiration to make changed in their own lives.That was a special moment to be part of.

All in all, the camp went really well. Of course, there were fights between the kids and times when they weren´t exactly happy campers - but they definitely had a great time and so did I. For the Casa Semear staff it was a great opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with the kids and invest more in sharing about their lives. This will help the day-to-day interactions at the Casa Semear kids´club over the next few months. Thankyou so much to everyone who helped raise the money to make the camp possible. Your money was truly well spent!