Monday, July 20, 2009

Day 2 Report

Thursday, July 16, 2009

As predicted the weather today was very rainy and unseasonably cold so we were not able to operate the camp program. This is simply because we don’t have access to indoor facilities as planned.

We occupied the time planning some events for the Youth Conference next week. This included cleaning the home that our guest music group, Broken Walls will be using next week and we baked several loaves of bread for us and members of the community.

Broken Walls is a band led by Jonathan Maracle, a Mohawk from Tyendinaga Territory in Ontario. The band performs a fusion of aboriginal and contemporary styles of music (http://www.brokenwalls.com/).

We are hopeful the weather will clear up tomorrow so that we can get back to spending time the community children. If it rains again tomorrow, we will run a program for the children on both Saturday and Sunday to make up for the lost days during the week. Right now it is promising to be a genuine summer weekend - complete with sun!

Camp has Begun

Tuesday, July 14

We have arrived in a Mishkeegogamang community busily preparing for an election. Unfortunately this planned event has led to some unplanned disruptions and a lack of access to facilities on the reserve.

In an effort to adapt, in the first week of camp we divided our team in two and sent them out to the larger wide-open areas on either end of the reserve to operate camp near the children’s homes.

Our school bus has not been available, but we hope it will be ready for next week so we can resume regular activities at the school. The school has not been available, as planned either.

The weather has been great and we’ve had about 15-22 kids in each camp area. We have opted to run sports, games, crafts and, under the circumstances, everything has gone remarkably well. Unfortunately, because we have no indoor facilities, we will not be able to operate camp if it rains. Tonight there is a storm developing that is predicted to last for 36 hours once it starts. We can only hope the forecast is incorrect.

Many of the children remember us from last year and are definitely excited that we have returned this summer. It’s great to build these relationships as children get older.

We drove 24 hours to Mish, encountered a few challenges when we arrived but what a privilege it is to able to give these children some ‘fun in the sun’ for a few hours each day!

Camp Staff Training

Muskoka Woods located in Rosseau, ON generously hosted the FTC Canada staff team during their own camp training session at the end of June.

This was the first time the Mish staff were together in the same location. We spent time getting to know each other and learning how to function as a team. We also enjoyed perfect weather, great food, wonderful facilities, and a chance to make new friends.

Considerable energy was invested in learning about the history of our First Nations. There was a focus on issues that they are currently dealing with and time spent learning specifically about the community of Mishkeegogamang; our ultimate destination in July.

Our time together in Muskoka unified us quickly and we are confident an excellent team has been put together for this summer’s camp in Mish. The team developed the following mission statement to help keep us focused as we serve together at Mish:

2009 summer Camp Mission statement:

To be enthusiastic role models while developing trusting and selfless relationships that teach the campers that anything is possible!