Brett McMichael - Another Great Camp

This is not about ROM but it is great nevertheless. While the ROM Core Summer Team 2010 is working on the final details to have everything ready for the ROM Gathering 2010 to start in a week, another amazing project has been taking place in Hope House and Fuzine over the past week. Brett McMichael, who is a member of ROM Summer 2010 Core Team has bee also serving in the team putting together  the Krijesnica Camp 2010. He now shares what a great success this camp has been:

It was a huge success!!! The camp was sponsored and organized by the Croatian Children's Cancer Society called Krijesnica (or lightening bug).  This was the first international camp we had.  We had children from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia.  There were nearly 40 children and teens from 6 to 18 years of age.  The camp started on Wed. June 30th and ended on Wed. July 7th.  With the exception of one day in which rain spoiled our plans to walk on a beautiful nature path in the mountains, all other days were gorgeous - sunny with a few clouds, highs in the mid to upper 70s F (low to mid 20s C) and nights were typically cool for our mountain location - in the 50s F (low teens C).  We are at an elevation of around 2,550 feet above sea level (850 meters).

We kept the children busy with workshops in music, art, sports and social games every day.  We had outtings to 2 caves and a nature preserve which featured unique rock formations and a thick, lush pine forest.  Our children also enjoyed walking around the lake here in the town of Fuzine.  The town has built a wonderful walkway which is nice and clean and safe.

With only minor illnesses and injuries we are glad to report that all children were in good condition and in great spirits!

On Saturday July 3rd we had a special workshop to deal with topics related to the psycho-social aspects of illness and hospitalization.  First a 25 minute animated film called Peter and the Dragon was shown which is about a boy who battles cancer.  The film was made in Holland but since it has no dialog, only images and music it was clearly understood by the audience.  Cancer was depicted as a mean hungry dragon and Peter the night who battled him.  He got help from chemotherapy which was depicted as bubbles which shrink the dragon, but some of the chemo was depicted as a bit crazy as it ate both good and bad stuff � explaining the reason chemo helps but also does some harm.  All of the children LOVED the film and said it captured the true essence of battling illness.  Many an eye was wet by the time the film ended � both those of the children as well as the adults.  Krijesnice bought the authors rights so they can distribute the film to all the children in this Balkan region. 

The children were then assigned to small groups.  Each group answered specific questions designed to elicit their responses to how they coped with medical procedures, peer reactions to their illness, relationships with medical staff and parents, etc.  The goal was to make posters with children's recommendations for new pediatric patients diagnosed with cancer.  This way these "veterans" of cancer could help those just embarking on the difficulty journey of adapting to illness.

During this workshop a national TV crew came out and filmed the children and some of the staff (including myself) about the purpose of the workshop and camp in general.  I think the info collected will help a great deal in raising public awareness about the difficulties these children face and how they are able to overcome them.

On Monday July 5th we spent an entire day with the folks from the "Adventure Academy" learning how to get along and trust one another through team building exercises.  The children as well as the staff participated.  We also overcame challenges such as rock climbing up a steep cliff, walking across a rope suspension bridge, zooming down a zip line and balancing on an elastic line suspended in the air.  These obstacles were designed to encourage the children to overcome challenges and by so doing - build self confidence.

We had the usual camp activities such as singing around a campfire.  Luckily we were GEATLY blessed with musical talent by both staff AND children.  One Croatian teen, 15 years old played the guitar - pop and rock songs from both Croatia AND the west.  Another camper, a 9 year old girl from Macedonia sang beautiful folk songs as well as any gifted adult could.

The artistic creations made were equally impressive - ceramic sculptures, scrap books, beaded jewelry, crepe paper flowers, etc., etc.  The children were quite serious about their creations but had a fun time making them.

Sports were of course always popular throughout the camp.  Most boys and a few girls wanted to play soccer (here known as football) everyday.  The kids were impressed that the local soccer field had a carpet to imitate artificial grass.  In front of our accommodations (which is like a mountain lodge) there is a volleyball net.  That kept almost all the kids entertained during free times with games continually going as shifts of kids getting tired would be replaced by "fresh" players.

Our staff was made up of dedicated volunteers from students of 20 years of age to those who are professionals well into the middle age.  We had a doctor and a nurse on duty 24 hours a day to ensure camper health and safety.  All activities were led by specialists in their areas of expertise - art, music, sports, social games etc.

The camp served its purpose - it provided a pleasant escape from the medical environment and all the negative aspects associated with illness and treatment.  Kids were surrounded by natural beauty and the social support of peers and staff.  Fun, creative and challenging activities kept their minds and bodies busy.  The children felt normal and were treated as such.  One can not underestimate the power of being in a place where those who have been seriously ill are surrounded by peers who went through the same experience.  All throughout the camp children shared with each other their memories, fears, hopes, anger, and joys through informal conversation.  Some which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning despite our petitions for them to get to sleep!

All of the campers loved the camp and ALL want to come back next year!  Their only regret was that it had to end!  Many tears were shed as it was so hard to say goodbye to so many new, strongly forged friendships.  Emails, phone numbers and even facebook accounts were shared in hopes that long distances would not prevent the friendships from continuing.  Even a few romances blossomed among the teens.  These kids felt so safe here since there was nothing to hide - all had their various scars so nobody needed to feel self conscious.  Although this area has been marred by ethnic strife, I am very pleased to report that there were absolutely no ethnic tensions or teasing of any kind at the camp.  It seems surviving cancer is such a strong bond they share that ethnic differences are a minor concern in comparison.  

During the camp this year we had a representative from the Serbian Children's Cancer Foundation.  He was there with his daughter who herself is a cancer survivor.  This father is planning camps in Serbia for children with cancer and wanted to see how we organized our camp and what kinds of activities we did with the children.  So our goal of multiplying our efforts in this region is already at work!  The dream of Krijesnice is to one day build our own facility so that we can host camps throughout the year and expand to incluade family camps for young children with cancer and camps for young adults.  Already we have interested folks from Poland who want to participate in next year's international camp!

Brett McMichael