3287 CAVITE (Philippines)
austraLasia #3287

 
CAVITE (Philippines): 25 September 2013 --  Here we are back with another Laura Vicuña Foundation event, but an important one, written up by one of the youngWe will continue to hope that there will be more adults who will look at us as children, endowed with rights and dignity, and that we are capable of creating change so that this society will be a better place for a new generation of world’s future.wards the New Evangelization girls who  at 16 is already a member of the National Anti-Poverty Commission for the Philippines. The LVF is under the auspices of the Salesian Sisters, Philippines. 


The Laura Vicuña Foundation (LVF) of the Salesian Sisters’ latest innovation in child protection,  the Youth Helping Youth (YHY) Program took off with the 2013 LVF’s YEHEY CAMP,  a 3-day gathering of 120 youth nationwide  at Oasis, Silang Cavite City, Philippines through the support of Ashmore and  STARS Foundation. 

Preceding the camp proper were intensive preparations where I and five other LVF child advocates were very much involved. We spent days of brainstorming to craft the design, process and flow of the three-day YEHEY Camp, identify the resources we needed and our specific taskings. There were moments when we were confronted with a mix of excitement, pressure and personal apprehensions as we counted the days left before the camp. With the thought of handling a hundred and twenty youth  of our age from the various LVF Child Protection Clinic areas in Metro Manila and Negros Occidental as well as those from the Salesian Youth Centers in Luzon (Pampanga, Laguna, Palawan & Manila) and the Visayas Islands, we were overwhelmed at times. But the Sisters and LVF Staff consistently assured us through their mentoring during dry-runs of the sessions and workshops that we will be able to deliver what we have planned. But of course, we knew there would be flaws and we were also prepared for the contingencies. Bearing in mind that this camp would bring the campers new learning and enrich their spiritual being, our enthusiasm was always high for the most awaited 3-day camp.

There were about 120 of us campers and adult mentors transported by two rented buses to Oasis in Silang, Cavite. It is a nature-inspired getaway  over 50-kilometres drive from Manila.

After some orientation on house rules and room assignments, the camp kits were given out and this was really the hint to start the big day. Words of welcome from our Executive Director Sister Maria Victoria Sta. Ana filled our hearts with courage especially us, the six youth facilitators, realizing our significant role to play to make this camp a success. This isn’t any ordinary camp, and so we really had to give our best.

Coming from different CNSP (Children in Need of Special Protection) group – urban/rural working children, streetchildren, sexually and physically abused and exploited, running the entire camp was not as difficult as we thought. The participants were no less than youth like us full of energy to survive three consecutive days of jam-packed activities from serious talks and input on children’s rights, responsibilities, violence against children, identification of problems in our communities & the society and problem solving to creative workshops and presentation of their outputs.

This YEHEY CAMP is indeed memorable for all of us. Many expressed the great experience for the first time of comfortably sleeping in our own beds ( in a cottage  for 3 or 6 or a dormitory of 10)  and sumptuous three meals a day with two snacks in between. But above all, we will forever cherish this most defining moment of our life, when we truly felt that we are important, and that we have rights as children of God.
We will continue to hope that there will be more adults who will look at us as children, endowed with rights and dignity, and that we are capable of creating change so that this society will be a better place for a new generation of world’s future.