I sit in the comfort of my bedroom preparing to go back to university for a year of hard study! It has suddenly got much colder and I remember the long summer that has just finished. I had a wonderful experience this year through VIDES. From the end of July to the middle of August I was involved in the three summer camps. I have been with VIDES for four years, and this year I was part of the group which plan the camps and training weekends. It was lovely to see the hard work of organising and planning actually form three separate special weeks in people's lives.
So I packed my rucksack with my 'camp' clothes, my VIDES T-shirts, shorts, track suits and trainers, oh... and one pair of jeans for the disco! Airbed and sleeping bag attached I headed north from my hometown, Staines, knowing that I would not be coming back until a month later.
Millom in Cumbria was my first stop. This was to be the third camp here with the aim of more local involvement. This meant that there were less VIDES volunteers, which was a new experience for me. By the very nature of a camp you get to know people so well because you are working together all day and you need the support of the others to keep your energy flowing. The group was lovely and I felt that I had got to know people better because we were all involved in this new venture. The local community was brilliant, as always, and looked after us during our stay. The local volunteers, who have formed their own VIDES group, worked with us as a team to make the camp as successful as it was. The children in Millom are very special to me. We have known some of them for three years have and seen them move up to senior club. As soon as we arrive in Millom the children appear from nowhere and seem to camp outside the school all week!
Going to make a phone call home just can't be done without a gathering outside the call box! We have certainly made our mark there and the children and young people always come back for more. We closed the week in Millom this year with a 'Celebration'. This involved all the children and by using the theme of dark to light all the activities of the week were represented. It was very enjoyable and tears were brought to the eyes of many parents and volunteers as children demonstrated their newfound talents.
After a few days rest in Yorkshire I headed further north to Newcastle to unpack my airbed once more! The area whom the VIDES project is based is Scotswood and Benwell. Here is very different to Millom but the VIDES magic seems to work! Working from a parish social centre this time for the second year the place comes alive with music, dance, face painting, balloon modelling and the appearance of CoCo the Clown. The seniors flock in here out of curiosity more than anything else. However, after a few games of table tennis, connect four and football with the volunteers they stay all week. One of the highlights of the week in this camp was the outing. The children just love coming out for the day with us. They come home tired but very happy. One of the special aims of a VIDES Camp is the formation. This comes in all shapes and sizes from just living through the camp but there is an hour a day of training. I personally enjoy this aspect of the camp because it is a fun way of understanding more about the Salesian ways and helps to build the community of a camp.
I moved on from Newcastle to Liverpool, Gilmoss to be exact! This was a totally new camp and so it was fingers crossed that children would come along. We started the week with a social evening in the parish centre with a bit of a VIDES karaoke which always goes down well The local people here were fantastic and had their own teams in place to cook and wash up in our own ready-made restaurant! They opened their homes for us to shower each day and really made us feel very welcome. Children did come.... in their hundreds! The children here were so open and loved chatting! It was great because the atmosphere was always buzzing. We hit fame and fortune when the Catholic Pictorial and the Liverpool Echo came and took photos of volunteers and children. The aim of the camp was to launch a local project which is getting underway on a weekly basis. The camp ended with an extremely well attended concert. The children performed dances, dramas, sign language, music and decorations from the art and craft group. The theme of the week was friendship and many children made new friends from their local area.
Finishing a camp is always the hardest part, especially when it is the end for the year. So I left Liverpool feeling exhausted after having given so much, but for all the giving I got much more back. I made new friends in volunteers and in children and young people. I learnt about new Salesian ways of working and the real importance of these camps in these areas. I discovered how one smile can stretch to a hundred little faces looking up at you. It was a good summer for me and I felt I had grown in my confidence to work with young people. I look forward now to the academic year ahead of lectures, essays, and exams. The thing that keeps me going is the thought of another long summer filled with football, gladiator competitions, line-dancing, face paints, outings, karaoke, and many nights on my lovely-airbed!
Derived from the Italian for ‘International Volunteers for the Education and Development of Women.’ VIDES UK is an International Voluntary Organisation) run by the Salesian Sisters for people who wish to spend some time in youth work.
By Emma Richards VIDES UK
