by Raphaella Ruggiero, Photographer and Communications Specialist
We’ve just past the Camp halfway mark and the fun doesn’t stop! Kesher’s unit theme this summer is “What’s broken and how can we fix it?”, and what a great surprise they’ve been in for!
Each week they focus on something new, revolving around the unit theme. This has included what’s broken within ourselves and how we can fix it, which ties in with self-care, what’s broken within their Kesher community and how they can go about strengthening their bonds with each other (which, after all, isn’t making lifelong friends what Camp is all about!?), and lastly, what is broken in the world and how they can fix it, which ties in with social justice.
During one of Kesher’s Mashehus, the campers all took a color personality test which grouped them into 4 groups according to which color they were. They were then told to build structures according to their color team, and these structures all differed between the teams. This provided an interesting and alternative style for the campers to see, explore, and develop their different leadership styles. Each team’s leadership styles varied greatly; for example, the “Blues” were willing to listen to everyone’s opinions, while the “Oranges”, who were the more spontaneous campers, all shouted words of encouragement like ”Go! Go! Go!”, ”Build! Build! Build!”. This program helped the campers to understand themselves better and how there isn’t just one way to lead, nor is there just one way to follow.
During an Evening Program called ”Big Games, Little Food”, the campers got to play life size board games like PAC-Man, Foosball, and Battleship. These were followed by an abundance of tiny foods, including miniature ice cream sandwiches, mini Oreos and mini donuts. Another Evening Program called ”Shattered Vessels” included a task where groups had 20 minutes to build a house out of a selection of foods they were given, including things like graham crackers, icing, bananas, and a variety of candy. Challenges were added along the way, such as only using one of your hands or only one person in the group being allowed to talk. Once their masterpieces were constructed to perfection, someone from the group elected themselves to explained their creation and the various reasons why they chose to make them. This was promptly followed by their houses being smashed to bits as campers were told they had 10 minutes to rebuild them all. This was an experiential way for campers to really feel how difficult it is to rebuild things once they’re broken.
All in all, Kesher has been in for some surprises, and I’m sure their staff and Programmer Rachel have plenty more up her sleeve to keep them on their toes!