Don Bosco winter camps 2018

By Ms. Bridie Keily

Melbourne, Australia, 23 July 2018 -- Ah, Winter School holidays – a time to relax and rug up nice and tight to escape the cold… maybe for some, but not for the leaders and campers at the Don Bosco Camp in Saftey Beach! There are games to be played, fun to be had and friendships to be made - with rain coats fastened and big smiles worn, everyone contributed to make sure the 2018 winter camps were the best ones yet!

There were two camps held: a junior camp for ages 9-13 and a senior camp for ages 13-16, each of which went for 4 days. Throughout camp season, the shouts of joy and laughter fill the air, as activities, games and chants are ran with only one intention: to give the young people the best holiday possible!

Over the two weeks there were many highlights, most notable of these, in the spirit of the season, was the Don Bosco World Cup, where everyone was a winner! On top of this, there were visits to a local roller skating rink, movie nights and a chance to bust out some massive dance moves at a disco! We were fortunate enough to celebrate Mass together with Fr. Peter Wang, providing us with a magical celebration on Junior Camp, and Fr Will Matthews, the Salesian Provincial, on Senior Camp.

Don Bosco Camp is a special place to be during the school holiday season, as this is where the Salesian spirit and mission is truly alive. For many of the leaders, going on camp is the purest expression of joy imaginable and a way to give back to such an important community.

Senior camp co-ordinator Patrick McPhee said that it “was awesome to be part of creating an environment that promotes so much happiness!”, whilst long-term volunteer and ex-camper Dominic O’Day added that he keeps coming back because he gets “a lot of joy and happiness in giving back to a place that impacted on me so greatly as a child."

These holiday camps would not be possible without the months of planning and love provided by the team of volunteer leaders. By walking alongside the young, they are instrumental in ensuring that a camp that is populated by young people from widely varying walks of life into a singular community can come together to create such a cohesive, joy-driven community.

As we hung up our gum boots to say goodbye to the Winter Camps for another year, we are left with fond memories, full bellies (the food was beyond delicious!) and a sense of accompaniment shared across the two weeks. What a wonderful season of camps it has been – we already can’t wait to see what this summer brings with Leadership, Junior and Senior Camps to look forward to!

---

---