Camp

Mattresses all packed up and ready to go. (via Neal Reese)

For the second week in Jinja, we were part of a teen girls camp that focused on bullying. Since the bullying has gotten progressively worse, the Children of Grace staff thought it would be a good idea to focus on that theme for this August’s camp, instead of the usual all-ages boys and girls’ camp.

via Kerri Perdew

There were almost fifty girls in total. My favorite part about the camp was seeing them have fun. The camp was a safe space for the girls to not worry about their every day problems and just hang out. The girls ate full meals, three times a day, played games, had praise and worship twice a day, and were able to learn the skills they needed to approach bullying, whether it was happening to them or witnessing it happen to another person. I enjoyed getting to know them. They asked us questions like, “Is it true that Obama sacrificed one of his kids? Is it true that there are no poor people in the US? Is it true that black people couple with (date) white?” It was very interesting to learn about their perception of America and also what they are being taught. I also learned that these girls are very smart. They work hard in school and work harder to keep on the right path. It’s common in Uganda to not even reach high school and be a young mother. I’m so proud of these girls and that I was able to meet them.

Preparing our meal. All of our food at camp was cooked outside like this. (via Marlene Kowalski)

via Marlene Kowalski

via Robin Latendresse

Kelsey and I with a few of the girls.

Arts and Crafts: Tie-Dye (via Marlene Kowalski)

via Kerri Perdew

One fun part of camp was debate. They love to debate and are incredibly good at it. Everyone was so proper and made their points very clearly. I was made part of the judges’ panel.

via Kerri Perdew

On the second to last day, we took all the girls to a resort, where they were able to go swimming. Unfortunately, even though they right next to the Nile River, most of them don’t know how to swim. Here, you can see Rachel, who swam for her high school team, teaching Sylvia how to swim.

On the last day, as our time was coming to a close, Teo called for a hugging party. OK, that’s not a real thing, but they played some music and off we went. As I was hugging the girls and saying goodbye, I started crying, not realizing until that moment how much I was going to miss them. I’m waiting until the day that everything lines up perfectly and I’ll be able to go back and see everyone again. Until then, I’ve sent some letters to my kids, hoping to hear from them soon.

A few of us on the last day (via Robin Latendresse)