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The holidays are almost over, and in Gobabis the ‘Holiday Club’ organized by our new volunteers and some teachers is coming to an end. Svenja, Barbara, Janna and Lisa have played games, done arts and crafts and played sports every day with enthusiastic teachers and up to 80 children. Here they report on their impressions and experiences:
Fun, games and action at the ‘Holiday Club’ of the Light for the Children School! This has been the motto of our holiday program for the past week and a half. We started with 30 children, one teacher and the two of us volunteers. Every day, the number of children increased; at the moment, an average of 80 enthusiastic children attend. There has also been an increase in the number of volunteers. For a few days now, we have been supported by two Weltwärts volunteers. Under a bright blue sky, we start every morning at half past eight with warm-up games, such as the Gordian knot (which actually works with 50 children, too). At around 9 o’clock, there is a welcome, loud singing and morning prayer. After that, there are various creative activities, ranging from clothespin animals, balloon crumple faces and friendship bracelets to paper plate elephants, photo stories, Namibia quizzes and homemade puzzles. Afterwards, the children work off their energy with all kinds of running, racing, tag and ball games. We are amazed and delighted that all the children, from toddlers to teenagers, get swept up in every game and activity: the older ones help the younger ones and are incredibly open and receptive to children’s games. At the end of the day, all the children are given lunch.
One day was dedicated to ‘Team building’. The team had to cross a raging river full of crocodiles. Another challenge was to reach the safe shore from a melting ice floe. It was striking that the children needed some time to get used to this kind of experiential educational game and to bring the entire team, rather than a small subgroup, to the finish.
At the end of the week, the Olympic Games took place. The children were divided into small groups and strengthened their team spirit by loudly chanting individual battle cries (‘Cheetahs win, Cheetahs win’ or ‘Roar, lion, roar’). They had to master the following disciplines: throwing for distance, sprinting, bottle bowling, wheelbarrow races, three-legged races and a water-bomb race. Finally, there was an award ceremony with homemade medals, and each child received an apple as a prize.
We have great fun planning and running the holiday program and are happy to take on the challenge of adapting our ideas to the large number of participants. We are grateful for Santiago’s enthusiastic commitment (a teacher at LftC), as he supports us in implementing the holiday program not only with his translation skills and determination. Without him and the helping hands in the kitchen, the ‘Holiday Club’ would be unthinkable. And not only we would be sorry about that…
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The holidays are almost over, and in Gobabis the ‘Holiday Club’ organized by our new volunteers and some teachers is coming to an end. Svenja, Barbara, Janna and Lisa have played games, done arts and crafts and played sports every day with enthusiastic teachers and up to 80 children. Here they report on their impressions and experiences:
Fun, games and action at the ‘Holiday Club’ of the Light for the Children School! This has been the motto of our holiday program for the past week and a half. We started with 30 children, one teacher and the two of us volunteers. Every day, the number of children increased; at the moment, an average of 80 enthusiastic children attend. There has also been an increase in the number of volunteers. For a few days now, we have been supported by two Weltwärts volunteers. Under a bright blue sky, we start every morning at half past eight with warm-up games, such as the Gordian knot (which actually works with 50 children, too). At around 9 o’clock, there is a welcome, loud singing and morning prayer. After that, there are various creative activities, ranging from clothespin animals, balloon crumple faces and friendship bracelets to paper plate elephants, photo stories, Namibia quizzes and homemade puzzles. Afterwards, the children work off their energy with all kinds of running, racing, tag and ball games. We are amazed and delighted that all the children, from toddlers to teenagers, get swept up in every game and activity: the older ones help the younger ones and are incredibly open and receptive to children’s games. At the end of the day, all the children are given lunch.
One day was dedicated to ‘Team building’. The team had to cross a raging river full of crocodiles. Another challenge was to reach the safe shore from a melting ice floe. It was striking that the children needed some time to get used to this kind of experiential educational game and to bring the entire team, rather than a small subgroup, to the finish.
At the end of the week, the Olympic Games took place. The children were divided into small groups and strengthened their team spirit by loudly chanting individual battle cries (‘Cheetahs win, Cheetahs win’ or ‘Roar, lion, roar’). They had to master the following disciplines: throwing for distance, sprinting, bottle bowling, wheelbarrow races, three-legged races and a water-bomb race. Finally, there was an award ceremony with homemade medals, and each child received an apple as a prize.
We have great fun planning and carrying out the holiday programme, and we look forward to the challenge of adapting our ideas to the large number of participants. We are delighted by Santiago’s enthusiastic commitment (a teacher at LFTC), who supports us in implementing the holiday programme not only with his translation and assertiveness. Without him and the helping hands in the kitchen, Holiday Club would be unthinkable. And not only we would find that a pity …
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