My nickname is Pipidi, I am doing standard six and I am thirteen years old. The day’s I will never forget I was very happy, the first time my teacher told me that I was going to camp I told my friends and my family and they were also happy and I wanted to fly like a bird. It was the first time to fly on the airplane it was nice seeing my house from the air I also animals like elephant and lion. At Kaparota I was learn about HIV and AIDS and education what I learnt. My friends at camp were OT, Motty, Steve, Emange and Leso
One of the most memorable moments of the camp was when one of the boys stood up and told the whole group that he wants to be the president of Botswana one day. This same boy has also been identified as one of the potential candidates for the Environmental Stewardship programme. One aspect of the camp that never seizes to amaze us is that when the children arrive at camp, they are quiet and reserved and it is hard to get a response out of them. This is probably the case for the first day and a half and then all of a sudden they start to relax and the magic of Children in the Wilderness starts. In front of your eyes they are transformed into carefree children who enjoy every activity and form special bonds with every mentor on camp. Many of the mentors commented that it is easy to maintain the level of energy that is needed for the camp because the feedback from the children is amazing and you just use that to get through the day.
You could quite clearly identify several of the children that appeared to have very little love and support at home. At first very shy and withdrawn, but soon our wonderful team soon made them feel safe and cared for and before long you see them gravitate towards certain mentors, that they felt they can trust and talk to. As is written on the back of the our mentor T-shirts - ‘Role Models’- is definitely what we become to the children. With the informal and child friendly atmosphere of camp the children don’t view us as teachers, but more as ‘big’ friends – people they can open up to and rely on. This alone is an important achievement and a bond we intent to maintain through our Follow-Up Program.
I wish everyone could have been there to witness the children come running up to Geoffrey (the Assistant Camp Director for Children in the Wilderness), as he arrived at the community trust hall where we had our follow-up session. It would seem such a small thing but enough to bring tears to my eyes. The children also came to give Rebecca and I (Angela) a hug too but the bond they formed with Geoffrey as he was present throughout their camp is evidently very special. I describe Geoffrey as a big kid himself; he can relate to the children so well and as a result has an incredible ability to win over the trust and admiration of all the children. I hear the children are really looking forward to our second visit to their villages which is scheduled shortly