Well, I must thank you all for your thoughts and prayers….the World Cup holiday clubs were a huge success!-meaning that the kids had fun, the staff/volunteers had fun (not AS important…but certainly a bonus!), and everyone involved was safe during the month and a half World Cup.
If you get a chance…check out this article http://worldsoccerjourneys.com/features/church-counters-child-trafficking/church-counters-child-trafficking/#story, it’s a story written about the club we ran in the Ballotsview community. You can also check out some really cool pictures and other articles highlighting the awesome things that were going on during the World Cup…in addition to soccer :).
Here’s how the
Youth for Christ Holiday Clubs were run…Each morning, the kids attending would gather for breakfast then move into their groups to sing songs and enjoy team spirit time. On the first day, each team chose their team name and came up with a war cry. The teams were divided by age groups starting with grade 2 all the way up through grade 7. In total, we had +/- 100 kids consistently attending the clubs each week. We had teams like Brilliant Brazil, Amazing Argentina based on the World Cup soccer teams. The kids also had an opportunity to come up with names for themselves. For example, my name was Crazy Caitlin and I worked with Luny Lucian and Lovely Lelethu. It was fun! So to get a team’s attention, we would call out “AMAZING”…and then kids would yell back “ARGENTINA!!!!!”-They really got into it! To add to the fun….and cuteness, all the kids wore bright colored bandanas to identify which team they were on.
During the club in Blanco, we went through the story of Joseph from the Bible and each day the kids had a picture that went along with the story to color in and ask questions abo
ut. The take home message was, the Lord has a very special plan for your life! and You are special!
What I learned by the end of all these clubs is that more than anything, these kids yearn for individual attention and to be loved. It means the world to them if you just stop what you’re doing to bend down and give them a hug. The evidence is in their smiles. So whether it was encouraging them as they colored, singing along with them to Father Abraham, hugging them over and over again, letting them play with your hair, jumping rope, playing games, sharing a meal, or reading the story of Joseph and his brothers together…the opportunities to reach these kids were endless.
I also saw huge growth in our youth volunteers. Two high school Peer Educators in particular
stood out among the rest. We only asked for our Peer Educators to dedicate one week of their holiday to working at these clubs but later I came to find out that Lucian and Lelethu helped out at these clubs during the entirety of their holiday. Wow!
I worked with these two for the first time way back during the Easter Holiday Club in Blanco. Their dedication and gift to connect with the kids knocked my socks off and after seeing their hard work at one of the first World Cup Holiday Clubs I decided to ask them to MC the club I was running. They agreed…and they did an amazing job! Here’s a great picture of them in their MC gear getting ready for the day.
I am so proud of all the Peer Education volunteers who took at least a week out of their holiday to give back to their community. My prayer is that the relationships formed between the volunteers and kids will not end with the World Cup but continue on to the next club…and the next…and the next.
If you get a chance…check out this article http://worldsoccerjourneys.com/features/church-counters-child-trafficking/church-counters-child-trafficking/#story, it’s a story written about the club we ran in the Ballotsview community. You can also check out some really cool pictures and other articles highlighting the awesome things that were going on during the World Cup…in addition to soccer :).
Here’s how the
Youth for Christ Holiday Clubs were run…Each morning, the kids attending would gather for breakfast then move into their groups to sing songs and enjoy team spirit time. On the first day, each team chose their team name and came up with a war cry. The teams were divided by age groups starting with grade 2 all the way up through grade 7. In total, we had +/- 100 kids consistently attending the clubs each week. We had teams like Brilliant Brazil, Amazing Argentina based on the World Cup soccer teams. The kids also had an opportunity to come up with names for themselves. For example, my name was Crazy Caitlin and I worked with Luny Lucian and Lovely Lelethu. It was fun! So to get a team’s attention, we would call out “AMAZING”…and then kids would yell back “ARGENTINA!!!!!”-They really got into it! To add to the fun….and cuteness, all the kids wore bright colored bandanas to identify which team they were on.During the club in Blanco, we went through the story of Joseph from the Bible and each day the kids had a picture that went along with the story to color in and ask questions abo
ut. The take home message was, the Lord has a very special plan for your life! and You are special!What I learned by the end of all these clubs is that more than anything, these kids yearn for individual attention and to be loved. It means the world to them if you just stop what you’re doing to bend down and give them a hug. The evidence is in their smiles. So whether it was encouraging them as they colored, singing along with them to Father Abraham, hugging them over and over again, letting them play with your hair, jumping rope, playing games, sharing a meal, or reading the story of Joseph and his brothers together…the opportunities to reach these kids were endless.
I also saw huge growth in our youth volunteers. Two high school Peer Educators in particular
stood out among the rest. We only asked for our Peer Educators to dedicate one week of their holiday to working at these clubs but later I came to find out that Lucian and Lelethu helped out at these clubs during the entirety of their holiday. Wow!
I worked with these two for the first time way back during the Easter Holiday Club in Blanco. Their dedication and gift to connect with the kids knocked my socks off and after seeing their hard work at one of the first World Cup Holiday Clubs I decided to ask them to MC the club I was running. They agreed…and they did an amazing job! Here’s a great picture of them in their MC gear getting ready for the day.I am so proud of all the Peer Education volunteers who took at least a week out of their holiday to give back to their community. My prayer is that the relationships formed between the volunteers and kids will not end with the World Cup but continue on to the next club…and the next…and the next.
What a great post, Caitlin! The story of Joseph is so encouraging. Hugs from Colorado - Jenny pre-bar. :)
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