Newcomers to Canada find community at church-run day camp
WINNIPEG, MB—A Manitoba day camp is helping kids from Canada and beyond discover new friends and experiences this summer.
Corrine Plett and her family have been organizing a day camp for the past seven years with help from others at their church, saint benedict’s table.
The camp, for children between the ages of eight and 15, is run on the Pletts’ property in the country, just outside of Birds Hill Provincial Park. Campers learn about God’s love for them and enjoy trails for biking, a climbing wall, a trampoline, slacklines and a badminton court.
“Part of [running the camp] is about the ‘magic’ of watching a group of very diverse kids—kids that come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures who don’t have contexts like school or church in common—discover what it is to accept each other and connect and become a version of ‘family’ for the week,” says Plett.
Some are immigrants coming from war-torn parts of the world, sometimes out of refugee situations.
“Most have faced tremendous loss and trauma before arriving in a new country to face the daunting challenge of adjusting to a completely foreign culture and learning a new language,” Plett writes on her church’s website.
“The camp provides the opportunity for these campers to spend a week outside of their apartments in Winnipeg’s downtown core, playing outside, trying new things, learning skills, gaining confidence, laughing and building friendships.”
She recalls meeting a six-year-old boy who recently came to Canada from Africa.
“He had never ridden a bike before, but he was determined to learn. We pulled the very smallest bike we had out of the rafters of our garage. He started on training wheels, but that meant he could go way too fast, proving to be a bit of a hazard to himself and to anyone in his path,” she writes.
“So we took the training wheels off the bike, and every day he made progress. By Friday, he was riding on the trails and showing off how he could ride holding on with only one hand! Maybe we shouldn’t have shown him those biking DVDs of riders chucking it off dirt jumps and doing tricks in the air!”
For those reasons, Plett says she and her family delight in sharing their large property in the woods, creating a space that can be used for hosting groups of people. The memories and community the camp helps create makes encourage Plett and her family to keep it going.
“We have a broad age range, and we love that!” says Plett tells ChristianWeek. “It feels more like being in a real community, being in a family, where all ages are welcome and diversity is celebrated. We find that the older kids really look out for and help the younger ones, and the younger ones look up to the older ones.”
“It’s a great place to grow in your faith and to try new things,” says a camper who’s attended every one of the seven summers the camp has been running. “I keep coming back because it’s fun!”
This year the camp runs from August 10-14.
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