There was magic in the air

And finally -- I am reposting just one more blog...one I wrote for Hope Village while Tracy was away.

There was magic in the air

Posted by hopevillage on August 15, 2012 at 4:00 PM

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The 2-day Fun Camp I mentioned in the last blog was much more than clothes, shoes and blankets (as good as that was!). It was so much FUN, the kids haven’t stopped talking about it, according to Day Care Manager Charles.

The teens had as much fun planning the event, as they did during the event! Pictured above from left: Alexis (our visitor), Annie, Chitkumbutso, Ruth, Wyson

As a precursor to the Fun Camp, we sought input from the teenagers who are sponsored in our program, to help organize and lead the 2-day Fun Camp for all of the younger children. After a series of planning sessions during the days leading up to the Fun Camp, the teens were eager and ready for this responsibility.

The young adults in their planning meeting from left:  Eliness, Aline, Weleard, Madison and Alexis (visiting from America), Annie, Chitkumbutso, Priscilla, Ruth, Wyson.

The 2-day event was a true celebration as the children and staff shared a meal for both days. The children arrived at 1pm on the first day and within the hour, we were all enjoying our Malawian lunch of rice, relish (a side dish made with a green leafy vegetable, rape, tomatoes and onion) and beans (slow cooked for many hours over the open fire).

Stella and Memory serve lunch to the children.

45 children were served each day.

Paul enjoys some nsima with Weleard and Chitkumbutso.

Day 1 of the Fun Camp was “Game Day”. The teens organized new games to teach the children, games that could easily be played if you were 6 years old, but also enjoyed if you were 19.

The kids play "Cat and Mice" - a fun game of tag.

Freeze Dance was a favorite activity of the day.

Day 1 ended with the distribution of new clothes and slippers mentioned in the previous blog.  Day 2 began with a special lunch - nsima (patties made from corn flour), cabbage relish, and goat meat from a freshly slaughtered goat the night before. The family from one of our children’s homes (the Kaswe house) have had a lot of experience in this, so were happy to take charge of meat preparation for the goat lunch:

Wyson, Weleard, Edson and Enoch, along with their friend Chitkumbutso, are helping prepare the goat for lunch the next day. Tina looks on.

After lunch on Day 2, Hope Village went C-R-A-Z-Y with a first-ever Hope Village Talent Show. God has blessed these children with talents that were unbeknownst to many, and we enjoyed a few hours of singing, dancing and skits. You won’t want to miss the next blog to view some of the kids’ talents we captured on video! We ended the day with the gift of warm blankets, as mentioned in the previous blog.