Welcoming Kids Back to Coola!

Our first Coola Holiday Program ran for six days during the July school holidays with up to 37 participants joining us each day for a ‘day camp’ experience… James, Anja and Sam, three of Coola’s interns, share their highlights.

SAM
It was great just having kids back at Coola as it’s been so long since we got to enjoy their company. I really connected with some of the boys just kicking the footy and hanging out. There were loads of camp activities like bush craft, boat trip, archery, canoeing, raft building, geocaching, and bike orienteering. We also ran lots of little games and other initiatives like ‘minute to win it’ and dodgeball.

I remember my own experiences of different camps as a kids, and the relationships I made with leaders, which was such a great example for me. I really hope that we’ve been able achieve the same thing in our relationships with these kids.

It’s good to be back at Coola and I’m looking forward to hopefully having more camps over the next couple of months.

JAMES
The boat trip was a great place to connect with the kids. It was really good to spend some time with them out on the lake, sitting down and having a chat. It helped me understand a bit more of the character behind the kid. One young boy had a challenging medical condition and as a result he got quite impulsive emotionally. Over the three days of camp I saw how much more he was enjoying stuff, and all the new relationships he had. God was at work in his life.

ANJA
It was so great to be able to give kids such a joyous experience, to be able to meet some really wonderful kids and to hear their laughter and giggles. It made me think a little about Heaven on Earth. God’s kingdom is at work seeing some kids arriving so nervous and scared and then, not long later, watching them play jokes on other kids, make friends, giggle and try new things. It just warms your heart.

One of the boys had so much energy and wanted attention all the time – he was the best. On the boat trip we had to watch him carefully so I got to know him better and see some of the challenges he was experiencing. That changed the way I related to him - he just needed one on one attention and some love. To be able to have the special connection with one kid was just beautiful.