By Owen Langbart
We met in the parking lot of the Baragwanath Hospital, the world's largest hospital, receiving 1,000 AIDS patients each day. There I met five other North American volunteers and=2 0about 40 South Africans who would become my fellow camp counselors. On the two-hour bus ride to the camp, I was immersed in tribal songs (Zulu and Sotho), dancing and clapping, and offered some kind of South African food spread onto white bread (still not sure what it was).
That was the start of my experience with Camp Sizanani, a camp in South Africa that runs programs for children whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS. It is a joint venture between Global Camps Africa and HIV South Africa. In the Zulu language, the word "Sizanani" means "helping each other," and Camp Sizanani is truly the embodiment of that.
Global Camps Africa is an organization founded by Phil Lilienthal, whose mission is to use camp as a way to change the attitudes and behaviors of youth regarding HIV/AIDS - and their own futures. Lilienthal, owner of a resident camp in Maine and a former Peace Corps volunteer, founded GCA to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. The camp program is part education, part HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and part crucial life skills, all wrapped in a spirit of fun and camaraderie.
C2 Counselors had four days of training to learn about the basic philosophy and procedures of the camp. We played games, did team-building exercises and performed skits. We sang lots of songs, banged drums, danced, stomped around tables, and laughed until we cried. In the beginning, we were strangers, but by the end we were a family with a shared goal of giving our campers the best 10 days that they've ever had and change lives for the better.
When the campers arrived, counselors (called "vochelis" at Sizanani) lined up and shook every hand as campers got off the buses, singing songs and giving hugs. For many of the campers, this was their first time out of their home city of Soweto and the first of many new experiences.
Over the next 10 days, campers took part in six daily activities: sports, swimming, adventure, theater, nutrition and life skills. Each night, evening activities included special events, and lots of singing and dancing -- both spontaneous and planned. Meal times, a favorite among many highlights for campers at Sizanani, also featured singing and dancing, first outside the dining hall while waiting to enter, and then dancing and stomping around the tables. It's hard to describe=2 0the amount of spirit and camaraderie generated.
Campers ate more than I've ever seen any child eat in my life. As one of the heads of HIVSA told me, many of the children came from situations where they ate four meals a week, and now they were getting three meals per day and taking full advantage of it. Additionally, as camp proceeded, the children started using the knowledge they learned in nutrition class, drinking more water, asking for whole wheat instead of white bread, and eating more fruits and vegetables. By the end of the 10-day camp session, the campers had gained an average of (a well-needed) 10 pounds!
The profound effect of Sizanani was best summed up by a young vocheli named Lebo. Lebo had been a camper a couple of years earlier and was doing his second stint as a staff member. He said, "Uncle Phil (Lilienthal) is my role model for life. I had no direction, no goals in life. Sizanani taught me how to express myself and believe in myself." Lebo now writes poetry to express his thoughts and feelings, which he had never done before. As for his future, he is planning on taking a seven-year international university program and hopes to become a bank CEO. This is t he kind of drive and determination that is inherent in many South African youth, but needs a program like Sizanani to draw it out.
At the end of the 10 days, there wasn't a dry eye as goodbye hugs were given. But along with the sadness was a profound sense of hope that the impact of these 10 days would save lives - both literally and figuratively. Children are only allowed to attend camp once as a camper, but GCA and HIVSA run bi-weekly "Saturday Kids Clubs" for former campers around Soweto. There, the lessons of Sizanani are reinforced, and counselors are there to support children in dealing with personal problems.
Through Camp Sizanani and the Saturday Kids Clubs, children are learning the life skills they need in order to keep them safe and healthy, both physically and emotionally. Because of this, South African youth like Lebo and others will, I hope, live long, happy and meaningful lives, and inspire others to do the same, instead of becoming one of the many statistics that has plagued South Africa.
For more information about Global Camps Africa, check out www.globalcampsafrica.org. Donations can be m ade through the Web site or can be mailed to Global Camps Africa, 1606 Washington Plaza, Reston, Va. 20190.
