We've been up at SkyCamp this week here in Northern Ireland - as was previously stated, we haven't had access to wifi to keep the blog up to date so now we find ourselves at the end of a long week full of stories and trying to find the best way to communicate them. So... we're going to take a stab this way. Below is a bit of an overview of what our week was like, and in the next few days you'll get to read a reflection from the students about their experiences over the week and in general on the trip thus far.
** I tried to upload this yesterday and it failed, since then, I was able to post a reflection from Selah Judge, so don't miss it! Look for posts from others in the next day or so. **
Students arrived around noon on Monday for 5 days and 4 nights of camp! The students came from different areas of North Belfast... Kids from Protestant and Catholic backgrounds, from a variety of financial and family situations, all with a common city and a group of youth workers who invited them to camp. There were 39 youth in all, and 19 of us leaders in different capacities... some full-time through the North Belfast Area Project, some volunteers through their Youth Working In Communities program, 2 from the Belfast Activities Center (running activities of course), and the 7 of us Americans. The variety in the group was one factor that stuck out to everyone there!
Daily activities included 4 meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper - a bedtime snack), a morning group activity, afternoon adventure activities (rotating through kayaking, bouldering, mountain biking, and hiking), and an evening cultural activity. Throughout the week the students learned more about their own shared Ulster culture (the region consisting of the counties of N Ireland plus two counties in Ireland), and then countries the YWIC students have/will be visiting: France, Australia, and the United States. Culture nights included hands on activities, Q and A's, food, etc.
One very important design of the camp was to give students a foundation of a shared identity - helping them to realize all their similarities and modeling what it means to be proud of all aspects of your culture without needing to demonize another. Hearing the stories and sensing the realities that the young people exist in was an eye-opening experience for each member on the team - it brought our historical education in Belfast over the weekend to a new reality. These kids are incredible - we enjoyed building relationships with them, laughing, trying new things, and learning from one another along the way.
Being in leadership in this setting brought its challenges too - discipline, respect, and communication are all unique experiences to a culture - and the differences between what we were used to and what was needed for this past week challenged us to step up, get a little loud, and have a little fun! Or was it patience? For me, it was unique too walking with each of the YV participants as they navigated these differences and uniquely lived into their roles for the week. We have a great team!
Speaking of which, we've got to get back to Ardaluin and get some rest... tomorrow we head north to see the Giant's Causeway and enjoy what the northern end of the island has to offer! A few days to rest and see more of this beautiful country are a welcome transition as we near the end of our time here. We're grateful for the relationships made and experiences had so far, we have some incredible hosts and have been blessed to be a part of some awesome youth work here in Northern Ireland.
Please check back in over the next few days as students share their reflections!
Peace,
John
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