Camden Camp
Shalini Gunawardana (OO) writes:
When was the last time you genuinely did something for someone less fortunate than yourself? Not because of Community Action, or because of Duke of Edinburgh, but because you wanted to? Every summer, whilst most people are enjoying holidays in exotic countries, around 30 children from four church parishes in central London stay in Oundle for a week. These children, aged 8-16 years old, come from various backgrounds, but many have sad and unsettled home lives and this holiday camp provides them with the opportunity to escape from their normal routine.
The camp is organised by members of the school community with Father Rob Wickham from Camden. It’s always a very tiring week, but all who help out leading the camp would agree that it is very fulfilling – you’re able to help other people enjoy themselves whilst having a brilliant time yourself, supervising the sports and arts activities, and generally looking after the children and interacting with people you’d never normally get a chance to meet.
This year, the children (and leaders!) particularly enjoyed the daily swimming sessions, the campfire, the trip to Wicksteed Park and the annual talent show, pitting the dancing talents of the nine year-old girls against the rapping skills of teenage boys! Setting the children loose in town on market day was perhaps not the best of ideas, but all managed to find their way back to our base, Sidney House, which was convenient as it gave the children plenty of room to run around, and we were always kept well fed by the kitchen staff.
As always, the camp was a great success, despite the obligatory scratches,
scrapes and a few tears, and the end of the week came with a mixture of sadness
and relief for all concerned! Many of the children and leaders return year
after year, and the friendships made always pick up where they left off. The
success of the holiday is shown through the dedication of those who volunteer,
who still come back for more four years on, and we are keen to draw volunteers
from the current pupil body. If you would like to know more, or are interested
in volunteering next year, please contact Shalini Gunawardana or Mr Turnbull.