VOH Burundi Kids Camps

VOH Burundi was blessed by a team from Cross Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba led by VOH Burundi founder, Dennis Wiebe.

The team started by holding a 3-day training seminar. The intent of the training was to teach the VOH Burundi staff how to run a kids camp so they can do it themselves in the future. Everyone listened intently, and learned quickly. It became evident that these young leaders took their roles as counsellors seriously and led well.

Two camps were held over a 2 week period, each camp ran for 3 days and 2 nights. The first camp was for the younger children and was run by the Cross Church team with the VOH Burundi staff learning as they went along.

For the second camp, VOH Burundi Director, Delson and the VOH staff took over with assistance from the Cross team. The location was south of Bujumbura at a Korean missionary compound.

For some of the younger children, the camp was located further than they have ever traveled before and they thought they had traveled all the way to Canada!

Each child was given a bright blue t-shirt to wear. They ate the generous portions of food at each meal and loved it. They learned the Hokey Pokey (which was really fun to hear in Kurundi!), played some new games and activities (including soccer/baseball, dodgeball, and parachute), and made crafts. Bracelets, picture frames (including a polaroid of their team), crowns, origami, and tote bags were keenly colored and decorated.

The highlight was the water balloon fight! We went through 400 filled balloons in a matter of minutes — laughter filled the air, smiles were on every face, and being soaked took the edge off the heat, at least for a few minutes! Points were scored throughout the camp based on line ups, morning room inspection for cleanliness, and sports. Everyone received a prize for something at the end of the camp.

The camp theme was based on the Salvation bracelet, explaining sin, Jesus death, salvation, growing as a Christian, and heaven. The children were split into 5 teams, each one a colour from the bracelet. Bracelets were first on the agenda for craft time. Each child and leader made a bracelet, and were told the meaning of each colour. Chapel and devotional times covered the meaning of each colour on the bracelet in more detail as well.