half a world away, but so connected
By Zac Gannett, GPP Program Manager, SeriousFun Support Center
If you dig into what actually makes up a camp and what creates that lingering feeling of acceptance and happiness, you will see a remarkable story in every place camps exist. But a SeriousFun camp located in California and one located in a remote part of Swaziland in southern Africa must seem worlds apart, right? Not only are their locations halfway across the globe, but their cultures, funding structure, weather, languages, food, and camp sites are generally very different from one another. How could camps of such different backgrounds have any similarities at all?
Sivivane Camp in Swaziland, one of the 12 camps in our Global Partnership Program, runs two seasons of camp per year with about 120 campers attending each season. They are led by their fearlessly capable Camp Director named Thobile. She focuses on the camp values: Safety, respect and love; and trains staff on camp culture, safety, caring for campers, and behavior management. When the staff members have completed their week of intensive camp training by Thobile and her leadership team, they are fully prepared to care for campers. They are also equipped with an arsenal of back pocket games and songs to sing at any given time – one of Thobile's specialties and a staple of camp life.
Once campers are welcomed to the camp site from villages all over Swaziland, they can be heard singing their favorite songs as they mingle to and from program rotations. They cheer for their team at evening programs and dance traditional dances after meals. Throughout the week, each camper is given their prescribed medicines and cared for by medical professionals. The campers also find a group of peers that they can relate to that are faced with many of the same illness-related challenges.
At night, the campers gather together in their cabin groups around candles and have what they call a Mountain Meeting to debrief the day. Fun questions like, "If you could had any super power, what would it be," are asked to create reflective and warm discussion. Campers at Sivivane also talk about how camp has transformed their life and how they have made so many friends because of it. Many of them grow up to be future camp staff and the next generation of counselors and educators.
All of what I've described happens at camp in Africa, where they speak different languages, eat different foods, and have different cultural norms. But if you replaced the name Sivivane with the name of our camp in California, The Painted Turtle, or any other SeriousFun camp for that matter, the experience I just described would hold true.
The most important commonality is that kids leave feeling empowered and confident. They discover a new group of friends with shared experiences. While a host of things may be different, it's the similarities –– that make the experience so special for the kids – no matter where in the world it may be.
To learn more about all of our Global Partnership Programs, please visit https://www.seriousfunnetwork.org/camps-and-programs/global-partnership-program
Or, to see the GPP spirit in action, please enjoy this wonderful video.