Despite
the known situation in Iraq, the youth & volunteers department
in the Iraqi Red Crescent society organized the first summer
camp for Children in Erbil district under the slogan “Children
of Red Crescent … volunteers of tomorrow”. The two-week
long camp was arranged in August 2005.
On the first day of the camp, 100 children between 8 and 12
participated as planned. However, by the third day the number
increased to reach 120 children, as many of the children brought
their brothers, sisters, cousins and friends. The number could
have easily reached 200 but the increase had to stop due to
the limited resources and capacities. The distribution of children
by gender was almost equal: 55 boys and 65 girls.
The mayor of Erbil district and the chairman of Erbil branch
from Iraqi Red Crescent opened the camp, and the camp received
the attention and coverage from several TV stations. This helped
in promoting the work of the Iraqi Red Crescent.
One of the objectives of the camp was to emphasize team-work
and the importance of leadership to the children. This was achieved
through exercises, sports and artistic competitions (painting,
singing) in which all kids excelled.
Additionally, the activities during the camp included information
about the International Movement of Red Cross and Red Crescent,
the history and activities of the National Society, and sessions
related to scientific topics such as personal & dental hygiene,
discussions about assisting people with special needs, respecting
the parents, respecting teachers and some recreational activities.
The camp was the fruit of the cooperation between Palestinian
Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and Iraqi Red Crescent with the
support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies. Several long meeting were organized between
the mangers of the youth and volunteers departments in both
National Societies in April 2005. The manager from PRCS shared
experiences of the work with youth in Palestine with Iraqi Red
Crescent, including lessons learned, challenges and opportunities.
Based on these meetings, a Plan of Action for 2005 for the Iraqi
Red Crescent Youth and Volunteers department was developed.
The summer camp was one of the activities of the Plan of Action.
The coordinators of youth and volunteers from all branches planned
and organized this first camp as a pilot project, and a total
of 23 coordinator and volunteer participated in the camp. As
this is a new type of activities for Iraqi Red Crescent Society,
the coordinators learned a lot from the organization of the
camp, and there are now plans to organize summer camps for children
in other districts next year.
The coordinators had never experienced this type of activities
before, but they had learned about the process of planning and
organizing a summer camp in the training workshop, organized
by the International Federation delegation in Amman between
27 June and 4 July 2005.
The organizing workshop was facilitated by Mr. Khaldoun U’weis,
manager of youth and volunteers unit in PRCS, and Mr. Suleiman
Al Ahmad, manager of management unit in PRCS, and Miss Darine
El Sabeh, MENA youth advisor in the International Federation
delegation in Amman. The sessions were very successful and important
for everyone.
We hope that the cooperation in the region will continue,
and that our experience with the Palestinian Red Crescent will
be the first of many successful experience-sharing projects
between the National Societies.
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first summer camp for children arranged by Iraqi Red Crescent
was attended by 120 boys and girls.
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importance of team-work and leadership was emphasised
to the children through sports and creative activities. |
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children also learned about the International Movement
of Red Cross and Red Crescent, and many other important
topics, during the two weeks of the camp.
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