Summer Camp 2008

Summer.  Every year, children look forward to summer time with so much anticipation and delight because this will mean waking up late, longer playing hours and a respite from grueling assignments and examinations.

But for the children whose families were continuously threatened and harassed by uniformed men and thus, had to hurriedly leave their homes, their friends, their schoolmates and their communities, summer means spending time in a sanctuary of evacuation center.

Since November 2007, several families from Quezon Province have been trooping down to a sanctuary to seek refuge from the wrath of military operations in their areas. These children were not only robbed of their right to education, but also of the chance to experience the excitement that summer brings to kids’ hearts.

But fortunately, the summer of 2008 had been fruitful for the displaced children of Quezon.  At least 21 children-clients of Children’s Rehabilitation Center from Quezon joined the Summer Camp held at the Gabriela Silang Folk School in Antipolo City. 

For the past decade the CRC yearly conducts a week-long summer workshop for children victims of human rights violation. Integrating creative arts, experiential learning and issue discussions and relating these to their life experiences is part of the Summer Camp.  The annual summer camp is part of CRC’s Treatment and Rehabilitation program that facilitates intensive psycho-social care to children traumatize by violence and war. The Summer Camp as a group process, serves as a venue in helping children bring back their trust to significant adults and their peers and enhance self confidence as they overcome their trauma and fears brought by their experience.

Discussion on children situation and their rights were integrated in the games and art activities. They also had a whole day of integration with peasants and workers to let the children experience the everyday lives and struggles of other Filipino families

The older children participants of the Summer Camp ‘07, acted as junior facilitators and assisted the titos (uncles) and titas (aunts), in the conduct of the activites and in maintaining the family teams They guide and helped their younger “siblings” through out the whole week.

Highlight of the week was the solidarity program held at the end of the workshop. Both the children and adults showed off their hidden talents through songs and mini stage plays they prepared which reflected their learnings and insights from the activities.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Thankfully, this year’s Summer Camp was made possible through the help of PATAC (Philippine Advocacy Through Arts and Culture), a Filipino-migrant group based in Canada that advocates issues of Filipinos, whether in the Philippines or in Canada, through arts.