The Piarist Youth of Aracaju and the Santa Teresita and San José de Calasanz Social Centre (Itaka-Escolapios Aracaju), Province of Brazil-Bolivia, are organising the second summer camp this January. The aims of the holiday camp are: To offer young people and children a space for leisure and diversion; to provide them the opportunity to exercise youth leadership; to bring the young people closer to the reality of the Social Centre; to practise or become a Piarist volunteer; to improve their skills; and to gather what God communicates to each one through their experience.
The aim is to offer the children of the Social Centre a space where they can live together and strengthen their bonds during this month of holidays with lots of fun, jumps, games, crafts and moments of fun and joy.
For the young people of the Piarist Youth, it is an opportunity to take advantage of the Masses, play sports or get involved as monitors of the Colonia, plan and lead activities with the children and discover what God touches in everyone’s heart.
Young Felipe Gabriel, a second-time camp monitor for the second time, says: “Taking care of the children, loving them and having fun with them is what I like the most. At holiday camp, we not only prepare our children’s days, but we also learn to help the people around us, such as our monitor friends, for example. Also, being with children encourages us that we should be like them, in purity, love, joy and sociability. Participating in the camp is exactly that: loving, feeling and living”.
For little Jonas Gabriel, who is also taking part in this experience for the second time, or in direct contact with the children through activities, it was very special: “the joy of being with the children, their love and joy, “having this routine of being with them is really good”.
For the young Jeferson, who was present in some moments last year and is a counsellor this year, the Colonia was a unique experience: “Participating in the camp was a great experience for life and my dreams. The intuitive feeling of having the experience of being a carer and helping is not my dream, because the children know that they are not only in the future, but also in the present. But because I was wrong… I have gained more than just experience. I have learnt that being a parent means love and care. You may think I am stating the obvious, but I agree. I have learnt more in the field than in practise. I have also learnt that we can not have or control everything and that sometimes we lose control. And the last point I would like to mention is… They are in our present and future, but we are not mirrors of them. Let a child hug you and tell you they like you, not mouth to mouth. So for me it’s a great life learning experience. “They learn as people and we learn from them”.
The holiday camp at the Escolápia Social and Youth Centre in Aracaju, Brazil, continues until the end of January. May St Joseph Calasanz continue to care for, accompany and intercede for all the children and young people taking part in this enriching experience.
