Last weekend marked the ninth year Whitsunday Anglican School (WAS) hosted Mackay Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp, running from June 17-19 and providing a unique opportunity for young people in the region living with a disability.
18 campers from Mackay and Moranbah were given the chance to go ‘on camp’ for three days of fun-filled action while giving their families and carers a well-earned break.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to give back to the community and make sure parents have some well-deserved respite while the campers get that excellent experience of a traditional school camp,” said WAS Teacher and Camp Co-Coordinator Nicole Ryan.
“They get to engage with other campers but our students as well, so they’ve all made a bunch of new friends and they get to try new activities with the safety of supervisors.
“The fact that so many campers come back year after year proves that they really enjoy the experience.”
A range of activities were on offer including swimming, gymnastics, arts and crafts, a movie night and a disco, the camp finishing with a carnival day on the last day.
The happy campers stayed at the WAS boarding house, with ninety WAS students from years 8 to 12 helping take on the responsibility of care for children with disabilities.
“They really have to learn to be resilient,” Ms Ryan said.
“They’re finding it obviously challenging but rewarding more than anything; they’ve made new friends, they’ve taught them how to engage with each other and how to make sure everyone is safe, so they’ve learnt a lot of skills along the way.”
Faith was one of many year 11 students who were put in groups as companions, with two students assisting with each camper.
“We’re all working together, taking care of our companion and also stepping in where other people need it,” she said.
“It’s been really awesome learning about compassion and working together.”
Year 12 student Kayla returned this year as a helper, after being a companion last year.
“I really enjoyed it last year, so it was exciting to get the chance to come back and see everybody and help out with the whole experience again,” Kayla said.
“It feels a little bit different coming from being a companion to being a helper because you’re so used to helping someone else out but then when you step back you realise how much of an impact being a companion was and now you get to have those behind-the-scenes impacts as well.”
Campers were treated to a petting zoo and carnival rides on the last day of the Mackay Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp. Photo credit: Sam Gillespie
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