by: Sandra Muli (Director of Communications)
Anaweza’s primary goal is to provide education to the vulnerable and orphaned children of Kenya. A large part of educating children is allowing them to explore their creativity and play, and thus, the Anaweza Camp 2023 was born. Taking on this event was a year-long journey that was a true labor of love. The need for our children to have the time of their lives while growing in faith and learning through fun was our guiding light. With the help of the wonderful Anaweza campaign committee, we were able to put together a program that we knew our children would enjoy.
My siblings and I grew up going to summer camps during our youth. When we became old enough, we volunteered as counselors at the camps and at our church’s Vacation Bible School. My goal was to make sure that the same fun and experiences my siblings and I had when we were at camp would be made available to our children who have so little. Together with the campaign committee, we were able to bring our grandiose dream to life. The first thing on our list was to make sure that we had a team of extremely talented individuals that could help run our camp. The amazing part was that all the people that we needed were already a part of our Anaweza family. Five of them were a part of our board and the other nine were all family friends, most of whom have been involved with Anaweza from its inception in 2017. It did not take much work to convince them to volunteer their time to our camp – they agreed immediately with their main question being, “when do we start?”. The next major thing on our list was that we wanted to make sure that we had a variety of activities that would bring new experiences to the table for our children. Combining the Kenyan culture with camp activities and games that we grew up with in the USA was a great way to approach the program layout.
What we wanted to do with the program was to make it as much fun as possible. Our children mainly spend their time at their boarding schools and at their guardians’ homes during their holidays; they have very little in the way of extracurricular opportunities where they can explore all of the wonder that God has created around them. We aimed to build a program that would help our children grow in faith, build their confidence, learn new skills and just plain have fun during this camp.
The camp consisted of daily activities, group bonding exercises, as well as field trips to various sites and museums. Although our children reside in the beautiful country that is Kenya, they do not get the opportunity to explore all that Kenya has to offer; our camp brought those opportunities to life. We split all of the children up into five color groups (Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, and Purple) and each group had a team lead who would go to each activity with their campers. The most amazing thing about going to camp in your youth is enjoying all the wonderful activities with your peers. Our children had a busy week that was packed full of fun activities that they had never experienced before. Each day began and ended with morning bible study/lessons followed by worship music. Our worship music leader noted that there were children who were involved in their school's choir and music teams, and he invited them to join him and lead. The energy in the room was completely transformed once our children began to participate in worship – it was awe-inspiring!
After the sermon, our children would split up into their respective teams with their leaders and head to their assigned activities. We set up five activity stations that each team rotated through each day: Art, Crafts, Dance, Music, and Sports. They learned how to create and draw their own superheroes in art, got a little messy with fabric paint and customized t-shirts in crafts, went through a complete workout and learned a wonderful routine in dance, learned how to create a song electronically in music, and got a taste of American culture by learning how to play ultimate Frisbee.
One of the highlights of the camp was field trip day. This was all orchestrated as a surprise to our children. They had customized their Anaweza Camp t-shirts a few days prior knowing that we would be wearing them for a surprise trip. The morning of the trip came and we loaded our campers onto the bus. The campers immediately took over the radio and started singing and laughing; their excitement was palpable! The first part of our field trip took place at Nairobi Animal Orphanage and Park. They learned about all the animals they hear about roaming around in Kenya, yet they never get to see. They kept our guide talking by asking various questions and expressing throughout how they never knew most of those facts about the animals in Kenya. The second half of our field trip was at Bomas of Kenya, a performing arts center where they were able to see the traditional dances of other Kenyan tribes that they typically do not have the chance to observe because they may live in opposite parts of the country. It was a great learning moment through dance, song, and traditional storytelling. Some of our children and volunteers were brought to the stage by the performers to join in on the fun. We went back to the camp exhausted in the best way; the kind of exhaustion that comes from having a fulfilling day.
Being the program organizer meant that I had an aerial view of the camp. I was able to go from station to station each day and watch as our volunteers happily and patiently taught their respective activities. Seeing our children take it all in while enjoying every minute of it was a surreal experience for me. Between the astounding talent of our volunteers and our children's willingness to participate in everything we threw their way, it was a great joy watching them getting so much pleasure in the things that we sometimes take for granted and they have none of.
The main highlight of the camp for me was watching how excited the kids were that we put this all together just for them. On more than one occasion they expressed, “I’ve never eaten such a variety of foods.”, “I’ve never had this much fun!”, “Please make the camp longer next time.” A lot of them told me that they expected the camp to be a very simple meeting, which would have still been amazing in their eyes, they did not expect the full program that we had for them. Us doing this camp was “out of a dream”. Hearing that and watching them interact with everyone was one of the most fulfilling things I could have ever experienced.
There were a lot of comments from our children about how spoiled they felt. The first time I heard that comment was the first night during dinner. We were in line at the food station when one of the campers turned to face me and shyly asked, “You are truly spoiling us, what did we do to deserve this?” I was at first taken back and I'm sure I had a sad smile on my face, but my answer was immediate, “You didn’t have to do anything, you deserve all this and more!”
This is why Anaweza did this, for their joy, to set up their future, to let them know that God loves and cares about them and that there are people out there who have their best interests at heart. We believe in them, we care, and we know that they matter. The biggest currency in this world is not money, it is the time that we take out of our days and lives to give to the people around us. That could be to our loved ones and neighbors or by volunteering for a greater cause. This camp was definitely a situation where people came together and gave their time, a priceless currency, to this cause and our Anaweza children felt that ten-fold.
Through the hard work of many people, we were able to successfully pull off our largest campaign thus far! My brain has been swimming with ideas on things we can do to continue improving the lives of our children. At this point it is just about allowing our imaginations to run wild! We have a fabulous Campaign Committee here at Anaweza, as well as a wonderful Board of Directors who support the Anaweza visions which motivates us to execute many more programs in the future in an abundance of ways. We want to continue to bring that joy and experience to our children like we did with this camp.
TESTIMONIALS
On the final night of our camp, we held a campfire for the children and, as a treat of American culture, we had smores ready for them to try! As we ate, the children began to come up to the center to speak about how our organization has impacted them. It was a viscerally painful yet endearingly heartwarming time. These children have faced incredible hardship and adversity in their young lives, more than many of them fully knew or anticipated, but they possessed remarkable resilience and determination to succeed. They spoke of how lacking in opportunity and hope their lives were before coming into our organization. They spoke of how that old life is brought in front of them every time they visit their village. They spoke about how, through our collective efforts, we are providing them with the opportunity to realize their full potential and pursue their dreams.
The testimonials we received are a powerful testament to the transformative impact of education on these children's lives. They speak of newfound confidence, hope, and a sense of purpose that they never thought possible. As we continue to support these children, we are reminded of the profound difference that we can make in the world when we come together and invest in the education of the next generation. These children are the future, and we are honored to be a part of their journey.
A NOTE ON OUR VOLUNTEERS
We would love to thank all our amazing volunteers; they were truly the rock stars during this camp. The work and dedication that they put into this program was unbelievable. Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to volunteer for our camp. You all took the initiative at every turn and made it easier for me to run the program. You were a team that took the success of the camp to heart, and we do not have enough words to fully express our gratitude - you truly changed these children's lives!
Thank you, Aaron P. (Board Member, Campaign Committee Member, and Team Lead for Yellow) for your dedication to Anaweza from its inception and for your hard work helping bring this camp to life. Thank you for taking on the leadership of Team Yellow and for being a resource to your campers whenever they were in need.
Thank you, Annie F. (Dynamic Dance teacher), for introducing the children to a new way of exercising and creativity. Thank you for your patience as they sometimes quite literally stumbled through their routines. You brought so much joy to their lives! And thank you for all your help with anything unexpected that came up – you're a gem!
Thank you, Ben T. (Co-Worship Leader), for offering the children spiritual guidance through your sermons and private conversations. Thank you for also helping out with the activities and joining in on all the fun that took place.
Thank you, Chris C. (Art Teacher), not only have you been volunteering your talents to Anaweza from its inception, but you brought said talents to the table and taught our children how to open up creatively – they will never forget that experience! Thank you for also encouraging those children that you noticed needed a little more complimenting.
Thank you, Daniel M. (aka Uncle MD! Worship Music Leader), you’ve supported Anaweza from its inception and have always offered your talent to our cause. Thank you for uplifting our children spiritually through music.
Thank you, Eric B. (Art teacher), for the work you did in showing our children that creativity comes in many forms. They truly enjoyed all the work you did and shared with them.
Thank you, Keith M. (Board Member, Photo/Videographer, & Sports Coach), for all the hard work you do for Anaweza. Thank you for capturing all of the beautiful moments we experienced at the camp and for teaching our children how to play Ultimate Frisbee. They had a ball!
Thank you, Marc P. (Team Lead for Green), for always supporting Anaweza’s work and for all you did at the camp: helping Keith capture all the fun and leading Team Green to victory during the Ultimate Frisbee Championship. Congratulations once again!
Thank you, Mark M. (Board Member, Team Lead for Red), for all of the hard work you put in for Anaweza and your unending drive to streamline all that we do so we are in tip-top shape. The influence you had on your campers was wonderful to witness!
Thank you, Masila M. (Music Teacher), for always offering up your talent and resources to Anaweza. Thank you for all the work you did with our children and for teaching them a new way of creating music. We truly enjoyed the performance you led during our closing ceremony!
Thank you, S. T. (Team Lead for Purple), for joining in this adventure and for working so well with our children – your team loved you! Thank you for also stepping up whenever anything was needed.
Thank you, Trevor P. (Team Lead for Blue), for joining us on this journey, it was a long time coming! It was wonderful to watch you interact with your team and join in on all that we had planned. Thank you as well for all your well thought out suggestions.