Coming from class one day in Cochabamba I noticed a group of  kids dismantling a temporary tent-like structure on the basketball court near the parish church. I had noticed the structure a few days earlier when I arrived. So I walked over to see if I could practice my Spanish a bit with them. I learned that they were cleaning up the last vestiges of the La Salette Summer Camp for kids in the parish. Diego Diaz, a seminarian who is living at the nearby formation house with Fr. “Juan Francisco” Higgins, introduced me to it’s organizer. Since Diego was one of the animators, I later asked him to write an article about the Summer Camp.

The Summer Camp began two years ago, organized by a Maryknoll Lay Volunteer couple, Evan and Susan Cuthbert. With their two daughters, Mary and Rosie, they live in one of the 14 barrios of the parish.

The camp runs during summer vacation – beginning with the third week of January and lasting two weeks. It is for poor local children, ages 6 to 12, whose parents can’t afford to send them anywhere for the summer. The cost per child is $5 Bolivianos, equal to 70¢US. Monday through Friday we gather the children from 8:30 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon. We divide them into age groups, with 4 or 5 older youth counselors accompanying each group. In some interesting game-form or dynamic group interaction they focus on learning important personal, family and community values.

They encounter new friends their own age; learn to share and how to integrate these values into their own lives – soul, mind, spirit, energy and body. Most days this is done on the parish grounds. Some days, however, we bring the children to a nearby park or to a swimming pool where they can enjoy the water.

It’s heartening to see how these children gather at the gates of the parish property well before 8:30AM. As soon as the gates open they rush in and, after saying a pray of thanks, we serve them a light breakfast. Then the fun begins. At 12:30PM, after they give thanks to God for the fun and food of that day, we serve lunch. Each day they leave in a happier mood returning home nourished in mind, spirit and body. But on the last day there is sadness in their demeanor, knowing that this Summer Camp has come to an end. They leave, already anticipating next year.

This was the first year that I served as a counselor. I was with the 12 year olds. It was a marvelous experience. In a small way we were able to help them understand important principles for their lives – how to live as a family and how to see God in themselves.