Shoruq Summer Camp 2016

  • Shoruq Summer Camp 2016


Shoruq Summer Camp 2016

Shoruq Summer Camp

For five days, Shoruq brought together 85 children, ages 9 to 12, for its annual Summer Camp. The Shoruq Summer Camp serves primarily children who are refugees and often living in difficult situations, offering them a fun week of travel, games, and culture as well as a special memory for the summer.

13 year-old Qusai lights up as he describes the summer camp. “Why I do love the summer camp? We go and have fun! We play, swim, and meet new people. Plus, we learn things. We learn about our Palestinian culture and history.”

This year’s summer camp included three days of field trips and two days of activities within the Shoruq Organization. On the first day, the campers had a day full of recreational activities and life skills inside Shoruq organization. Volunteers led workshops including drawing, music and rap, and kinetic activities. The next three days were spent on field trips to three different locations: Battir Resort, Solomon Pool Park, and Murad Resort.

At Battir Resort, the children enjoyed an open day of swimming, playing, and exploring the nature. The following day, at Solomon Pool Park, the children enjoyed nature as well as had organized recreational activities, including fun competitions that promoted teamwork. At Murad Resort, the last day of field trips, the children swam all day at a pool reserved exclusively for the Shuroq Summer Camp. During these field trips, the aim was to let the children be active, provide fun and educational games, and bring children to a new place that they may not have the opportunity to visit otherwise. On the last day, all 85 children gathered at Shoruq for activities led by the Palestinian Red Crescent, including facepaint and recreational games. The atmosphere was celebratory, with plenty of dancing and singing, and the Palestinian Red Crescent provided all the campers with a small gift at the end of the day.

On this last day, there was a special performance by some of the children: a Dabke performance. Dabke is a traditional Palestinian dance. Shoruq runs two Dabke teams, one for high school students and one for younger children; Shuroq’s trainers teach the children the Dabke dance and then brings the teams around the world to perform and share this Palestinian culture.

13 year-old Qusai has trained in Shorqq’s Dabke team for the last year. During this last day of the summer camp, he and his fellow dancers performed for the other children in the summer camp. It was a beautiful moment to share their hard work with their new friends, as well as continue to promote Palestinian culture. As Qusai reflected, “It was our first time performing in front of our peers, we are still a new group. We performed well; our new friends loved the performance and encouraged us.”

As the final day drew to a close, the children were sad for the end of Shoruq's Summer Camp. Nonetheless, they left with big smiles after a happy week that will remain in their memories – grasping hands of new friends and trying out some Dabke moves as they headed back home.