Urban Camp? We know what you’re thinking, who would go on camp in the middle of the city? Urban Camp is actually learning about social justice issues - the difficulties people face and how we can help.
We all had a great time and here are just some of the highlights:
- We interacted and played with preschoolers at “Cubbies” which is an adventure park for disadvantaged children at the nearby Atherton Garden Housing Commission estate. “Cubbies” is run by Save the Children Australia. These few hours spent with the children were filled with laughter, smiles and exercise
- We spilt up into groups and spent time with the children from the Sacred Heart Primary School, Fitzroy. We helped out in their classrooms and spent time with them during their lunch break
- We helped refugees (aged 15-25) to practise their English by conversing with them and helping them with their writing
- We cooked breakfast for children from the Housing Commission Blocks to eat before going to school. We also played board games with them after they finished their breakfast
- We learnt African dancing and had a dance-off between each other which was extremely funny and entertaining
- We had afternoon tea with members of the “Coolibah”. The Coolibah members are people 65 years of age or more who live in the City of Melbourne. They’ve all experienced hardship in their lives and are socially and financially disadvantaged. We made them lemon slices, pizza rolls and fruit skewers. We enjoyed conversing with them and showing them our African dance routine.
Urban Camp was a rich learning experience that provided us with a rare opportunity to interact and learn about different groups of people in our society. We learnt:
- what Housing Commission Blocks are and how they function
- about refugees and the difficulties they face
- that you shouldn’t just judge someone before you learn their story
- how lucky we are
- social enterprises and how they help
- there are many different ways to help people in need.
We feel so grateful that we had the opportunity to meet the people we met, had the privilege to listen to their stories and felt inspired to do more and listen with an open heart.
Emmaline (Year 9)