OUR FERTILE GROUND
"People are like bicycles. They can keep their balance only as long as they keep moving forward." -Albert Einstein
Day Camps
The Fertile Ground Camp in Cape Town brings people from diverse countries, institutions, communities and backgrounds together, creating an opportunity for participants to overcome differences and foster compassion, understanding and acceptance. At the residential camp, families can find a needed relief from the impact of stress, violence, disempowerment and stigma they experience in their communities. In South Africa, young girls and women are particularly vulnerable and significantly affected by domestic violence and abuse. There are insufficient resources and agencies whose efforts address these problems.
Residential camps offer respite from these difficult situations where families can spend five days together sharing knowledge & experiences, which offer release from isolation, despair and fear. The camps are an opportunity to get away from the hardships that youth, families and there communities live with on a daily basis and allow them to share experiences while learning about themselves and obtain a locus of control within their health challenges.
Residential Camps
Day Camps offer participants the opportunity to explore sights and experiences such as; Trips to the aquarium, Robben Island, Bird World, hikes in the forest and on the mountain, which they cannot easily access in their everyday lives.
Significant themes that have emerged from the residential and day camps are as follows:
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Youth being accepted without judgment
Families finding the freedom to express and disclose health status -
Participants making new friends and becoming a part of a cross-cultural community
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Maintaining daily medication schedules
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Taking on personal responsibility and participating in healthy activities
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Being part of a great camp family
