May Team Update

Our first ever May team was a huge success.  Eleven volunteers arrived in St. Lucia on May 7th and immediately got to work.

Our first stop was a morning visit to the Canaries Pre-School were we played games with the children, read stories, and enjoyed being together.  We even used a parachute in the parking area of the old service station across the road!

We immediately shifted into camp mode as the courtyard was converted to our space station.

For 5 days of Saturdays and Sundays, the campers came down to join us as we learned all about our solar system, space travel, and rockets.  The whole team got involved in acting out the skits, doing crafts, playing games, community time, and then heading down to the beach for sand play, soccer and swimming in the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

On Sunday our 13th volunteer arrived just in time to switch gears again.  We spent Sunday evening making sure everything was ready for our Monday morning arrival at Canaries Infant School.  We ran a 5-activity rotation that kept every student and teacher involved using a turtle theme.  There was turtle science, crafts, games, math, and literacy activities that featured Canada’s own Franklin!

The conditions were very hot and dusty but the volunteers did a super job of keeping the students engaged.  Recess was spent reading and playing.  By lunchtime we were ready to return to the house for some quiet time and a great meal from TiTi, Joanna, and Katie.

On Friday we created special activities that began with a community challenge around the village to answer questions.  Both students and teachers enthusiastically led the volunteers around the village.  Part of the challenge was to deliver donated medical supplies to the village health clinic along with a commode chair that was carried through the village by the Grade 2 students.

After a great first week in the school, camp began again Saturday morning with some children arriving by 7:30. The Junior Leaders did a great job of helping, continuing many of their summer jobs, including making Sunday morning pancakes with Uncle Scott!  

We celebrated Mother’s Day in St. Lucia by helping the campers to create cards and gifts for their mothers.  We were able to let the campers select from a wide variety of toiletries to create a bag of goodies.  We also found creative ways to share t-shirts, school bags, and flip flops that had been donated.

Sunday at noon we had to say goodbye to 5 volunteers as they headed off to the airport for home.  The campers gave them a great send off but we were sad to see them go.

Monday morning the remaining 7 volunteers returned to the school to become classroom helpers.  We were not quite sure how this would work out but we all felt it had been very worthwhile and the timing was perfect.

One of the Kindergarten teachers had begun her maternity leave early.  The replacement teacher would not begin until June 1!!  The classes were combined making 37 students.  Two of our volunteers joined this group and did a fantastic job of assisting the teacher while working with individual and small groups of students.

Meantime, 2 more volunteers agreed to take the 7 lowest Kindergarten students each morning and try to work with them in the special education space using the learning carpet.

The other volunteers spread out in the remaining classrooms and found themselves involved with helping with all aspects of the programs.

On Friday we took part in a Mother and Father Day program that celebrated literacy.  We were surprised by the turnout and the enthusiasm of the parents, especially when they competed in Jeopardy.  It was wonderful to see how many of them seemed to feel very comfortable being in the school and how enthusiastic the students were to share the day with them.

Saturday was our last day of camp and our Blast Off to space.  It is always a difficult time as we prepare to say goodbye.  This time it was particularly hard as we had learned that several of our campers were in very difficult family situations.  In one case, a mother of 3 campers had left with only the baby, and was not expected to return.  The children were struggling to get to school although women in the community were trying to help out.

In the other case, the child’s mother was struggling greatly and the child was becoming more and more withdrawn.  They were about to move house again but would be remaining in the village.  It is more difficult for others to help as the mother has no family and has kept herself quite apart.

The team committed to pouring as much love into every camper as we could with special attention to the four, in particular.  It was hard to see them leave.  The only consolation was that another team would arrive in July.

Summer camp is full with every camper and Junior Leader returning along with a few new ones.  We are still in need of a few volunteers to round out our teams.  If you would like to experience Camp Sylvester first hand, this is your chance!  Come and find out why so many return.  Learn how you can make a difference in the lives of some special children.

We are also in need of more camper support.  For $130.00 you can help us to provide 2 nutritious meals/day, a camp shirt, a Blessing Bag, enriched programming, a field trip, swimming lessons, and lots of love and encouragement.

For more information contact Michelle Anderson at auntieshel12@gmail.com

Thank you for your continued interest in the lives of the children, women, and seniors of the village of Anse La Verdure as well as the students and teachers in Canaries.

Blessings to all

Auntie Shel