A few years ago I worked as an advisor at a camp. The camp was called “fertile grounds project” and was located upstate New York. The program was designed to give inner city children a chance to experience a more natural way of life while at a campground. Different groups from different schools throughout nyc would go up to the campgrounds for about a weekend. We created obstacle courses And games for the children to accomplish while learning many different life tools like team work, problem solving, and so on. But the most fun part of the experience was camping in tents with sleeping bags and cooking food over a fire. The children had to start their own fire cut their veggies and work together to make a meal. At first when they arrived and realized there was barely service and they were sleeping in tents, some of the children would become reject the idea. But as time went and they fought and laughed and worked on obstacles together, they became more like One big family. By the time they were leaving most of them had created new or closer bonds. I remember one group specifically that had come. It was an all girls group. In that group there were mostly Spanish speaking girls and Muslim dark skinned girls. Both on polar ends. At first they didn’t really want to work together. They would fight each other and blame each other for failing at an obstacle. But then they began encouraging each other and helping each other. They realized they needed each other. When they left camp they All left as friends. And I know they probably had more interactions at school after that. And that was what the fertile grounds project was about.
by Belssivett Jimenez
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