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!

"Scugog helping hands stretch to foreign land" by Dr. Steve Russell (printed in the Port Perry Star)

newsdurhamregion.com

"From Scugog to the slums of El Salvador" by Dr. Steve Russell (printed in the Port Perry Star).

www.newsdurhamregion.com

Check out this story about Dr. Cross and his team (printed in the Milton Canadian Champion):

www.miltoncanadianchampion.com

MEDICAL TEAM VIDEO: EL SALVADOR

Every medical-dental trip inevitably involves a camera (certainly more than one) and a high quality video camera.

On the first trip to Honduras we were fortunate to have a camera person with 25 years experience! The result was terrific footage of the team in action. On this last team trip to El Salvador, we had another experienced camera person so we acquired good footage and were able to create the following video:

The video and an accompanying slide show are give to the team members at a reunion event. The most recent reunion was held in Port Perry, ON on June14th. A considerable number of our team professionals reside in "The Port".

Please look for new posts about future team trips ... and thank you for partnering with us.

Check out more videos from FTC Canada at YouTube!

Volunteer of the Year Award

FTC Canada received special recognition from Mamow Sha-way-gi-kay-win, North-South Partnership for Children. FTC was presented Volunteer of the Year honours in recognition of valuable contributions and dedication to First Nations Communities.

On hand to receive the award were FTC First Nations Coordinator, Karen Ward and the President of FTC, Ken Dick.