Stories

One in the middle of the statue, another in a flower bed, another on the very tip of a tree branch and the clues were hidden. Over 100 questions are now scattered across the park awaiting the excited children. Our last day of camp was a treasure hunt. A couple of us staff had snuck out the door early to hide the clues ahead of the children.  

A few minutes later the bus is unloaded, and the teams are ready to go. The next couple hours were filled with running, racing and laughter as each team raced to finish the questions to reach the final question. After about 45 minutes there were cheers of success, and we had a winner and the day finished with happiness from the kids and a sense of satisfaction from the staff.

For the last five weeks there has been around 70 children coming every morning for games, stories, art, theater, and personal development and more classes. This camp was not only about having fun. They were meant to take something with them greater than just a toy or having fun.  They were meant to take a deeper understanding of themselves, God and life lessons with them that would serve them for more than just the summer but for their lives.

 

Below are some quotes from the kids about the camp:

 

To the question, “What did you learn?”

“Arts, teamwork and Patience” ~Aya age 6

“More about God and how I can forgive” ~Elio age 7

“Respecting the time, discipline and respecting the other person while they are talking” ~Emilio age 9

“I learned to think about my actions” ~Houssam age 9

“To respect and self- control” ~Georgia age 14

“Cooperating with friends and meeting new friends and how to collaborate” ~ Rime age 14

“Invention, acting and life lessons” ~ Dimitry age 12

We saw so much growth from so many kids. I think it’s fair to say mission accomplished. Small things they take away like this help these young people grow into better people and investing in the younger generation is investing in the future of Lebanon.