Summer around the globe is characterized by the smiles of children as they are free to explore and learn about the world around them as the play and work outdoors.
The summer camps at Casa Providenței provide an opportunity for children to learn through new experiences, build new friendships, and most importantly have fun while they participate in activities that allow for the growth of the whole child. To help facilitate this, the activities and events revolve around positive themes which nurture the growth of the children we are lucky enough to spend time with. The themes for this year’s camp included Peace, Friendship, Forgiveness, Faith, Courage, and Kindness.

The camp this year brought together children who are refugees from neighboring Ukraine and Moldovan children from Chișinău. The camp placed a focus on uniting the children and building relationships by having them participate in mixed teams and groups. These teams quickly became unified through their team names, chants, and friendly competitions. Friendships quickly formed as the children began to let their guard down and were allowed to do what they do best and that is to be children.

As the camp at Casa Providenței focuses on educating and exercising the whole child, the children participate in multiple types of activities. One of the main core elements of the camp is dance. Each day the children are taught and led by a group of amazing teen volunteers. The majority of them attended the camp as children and know how important it is for each child to feel comfortable and safe dancing in front of their peers. The dances themselves have a differing range of difficulty which allows for the youngest children to feel comfortable and the older to feel accomplished.

Another core element of the camp is the individual and group activities that the children participate and compete in. This year the children competed in team competitions that led them to explore the entirety of the campus as they searched for puzzle pieces, captured balloons from each other, guided each other blind folded through obstacle courses, participated in water races, and dozens of other group competitions. As individuals they get to practice and demonstrate their skills in demonstrations of knowledge, athletic competitions, games, and even archery. This variety of group and individual activities allows every child to participate and find success in an area that they may not have known they were skilled.

Master classes are taught each day to give the children the opportunity to participate in the fields of art and cooking. During this camp, children have painted, drawn, colored, sculpted with clay, arranged flowers, and many other things in our art classes. They have also had the opportunity to learn to prepare and try new foods in our cooking classes. The children won’t soon forget making their own pizzas or cheesecakes.

One of the most important activities that we do here at Casa Providenței is give the children a chance to learn about and explore Moldova. This summer the children visited the Monastery at Orhei Vechi where they learned about the history of the region and see how the people who once resided there lived. We also visited a local park here in Chișinău where the children flew above the ground into the trees and helped teammates navigate through a difficult ropes course. Other explorations this summer have included local museums, historical sites, and even a trip to Orheiland.

This summer the children have been pushed to increase their physical and mental abilities. We were told that many children needed naps after each day of camp as they had spent all of their energy. We take this as a compliment because it means that we provided each child with an opportunity use their inherit summer energy to participate in our positive activities where each child is provided with a structured and supportive environment where they can push themselves and thrive as they continue Paint the World with Color.