YWCA Camp Westwind: Belonging at camp

Here we are on the last full day of session 2. We have enjoyed sunny warm (not hot) days and cool evenings with beautiful sunsets. Last night we enjoyed the sunset with a beach party and dancing, and the Teen Adventure 2 campers made it back just in time from surfing to join in.

I have joked a few times this week saying we have a mini United Nations at camp this session, and we could all learn something from watching these campers. They may not have a common first language but they have found the common language in play, care, compassion and respect.

Today's lunch of grilled cheese, tomato soup, and salad bar will be the fuel for one last day of kayaking, paddle boarding, hiking, archery, ocean dipping, singing and playing before we wind down for closing campfire.

We have been blessed to have campers that are refugees from a few countries this week. At staff meeting last night I asked the staff to throw out words that come to mind when they hear the word "camp". As you can imagine the words...fun, exciting, sandy, exploring, giggling.... Now, think of our refugee campers and what they may have thought or felt when they were told they were going away for a week to "camp". The room was quiet as staff reflected on the flip side of the meaning of a word we only associate with amazingness. I didn't ask them to reflect to feel guilty, I asked them to reflect so that they could see the opportunity they have had to replace the meaning of a word with a new experience to associate it with. We are so fortunate at camp to empower children to become strong amazing, confident individuals.

Each camper comes from a place that we as camp staff maybe don't know much about, but what we do know is that we have the opportunity to help them see that they are part of a bigger community here at ywca Camp Westwind. We all want to belong somewhere and if you have ever been on staff or a camper at Westwind you know, you belong!