Two weeks of Camp 'Mamohato!
July 2010 - Sentebale's Camp Mamohato ran from June 22nd to July 9th - our second winter Camp. The theme was “Let Your Light Shine” and it was hosted at the Morija Ecumenical Centre.
As part of our Camp expansion there were two weeks of Camp - the first week was for 10 to 13 year olds,the second week was for 14 to 17 year olds. A record 82 children attended the Camp.
Before Camp got started there was a week of training for the Camp Staff under our 'Mamohato Leadership Team, as well as with a representative from the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps. 22 Camp Counsellors, 10 medical staff from partner clinics, and two exchange staff from a similar camp in Swaziland all took part in the training.
Our theme “Let Your Light Shine” was introduced to help campers realise their potential, encouraging them to lead healthy and happy lives. With this mission in mind, the camp program focused on building the campers self esteem, educating them about HIV, adherence to medication and helping them support one another and give them hope for the future through different activities. The children left with their confidence boosted, having had their progress and successes recognised by Camp staff.
The stigma around HIV is incredibly strong and there are many myths around HIV; the medical team focused on teaching the children about the reality of the disease - shattering the stigma and helping them to realise that they can live long and normal lives with HIV.
There were lots of activities for the campers with arts and crafts, sport, team building activities, nutrition exercises, drama, and a chance to perform on stage in front of the whole camp; all of this in a fun, supportive and relaxed setting. On the last day of camp, the campers had a hard time leaving and said they wished they could stay at camp and that they had both had fun and learnt a lot.
We partnered with clinics from four districts, three of which are new to our Camp family; Baylor Maseru, Baylor Leribe, Tsepong clinic in Leribe and the Berea Hospital in partnership with the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric Aids Foundation and the Baylor Qacha's Nek clinic. This means that to date Camp 'Mamohato has partnered with at least one clinic from half of the districts in Lesotho.
We would like to thank all of our partners for another successful season of camp - The Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, the Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation Lesotho, The Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric Aids Foundation Lesotho, Scott Hospitaland its Health centres, the Berea Hospital and the Tsepong clinic at Motebang Hospitalin Leribe.
© Sentebale 2011