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Summer with FDI, a holiday sports and therapy camp

28 sierpnia 2024

From the 15th to the 25th of August we were at a summer sports and therapy camp in Piecki in the Masurian Lake District. It was a continuation (and intensification) of the journey we started with 18 young people from facilities in Łuków, Stoczek Łukowski and Zambrów during the winter camp this year. This time it was mainly an art therapy trail with beautiful introspective views.

The camps are one of the key activities that complement the year-round scholarship programme. This reflects our approach of providing a comprehensive offer in terms of emotional development, setting goals for a mature and independent adulthood and support in developing social skills. This is a long process and during the camps we have the opportunity to monitor and reflect with the young people. The first signals we sent each other at our winter camp in Poręba Wielka have bounced us back and allowed to reflect on ourselves.

How Beautiful It Is to Be in Therapy!

This summer, the main activity for emotional development and psychological well-being was an extensive art therapy programme. The classes, in which we learned to name feelings through art, were a channel for releasing some of the tension and blockages in the participants’ chests. It is well known that the beauty of creativity creates a wonderful aura of humanity.

Two therapists from the Plaster Miodu psychotherapy centre supervised the coordination and content of the summer camp. Supported in planning activities for the campers by the manager of the foundation’s educational and social department, Kasia Salmanowicz, they established good relationships with the young people.

However, the hard edges of the programme always collide with the soft underbelly of everyday life – and this is also (or perhaps even more!) the case in the camp. On a camp we form a temporary community that develops its own rules and networks of relationships. In addition, random accidents and external circumstances catch up with us. Participants can then use the support of educators and therapists to regulate their emotional and social mechanisms. In the case of real life crises, which are more common in the world of institutional foster care than in other worlds, solidarity, compassion and honesty prove to be as important as ever. At our camps, we all learn how to give and receive support. It is very difficult, even for adults. Everyone was challenged.

How Healthy It Is to Be Sporty!

Summer camps are not just about therapy, work and development. They are also about entertainment and sport. A legendary element of good camps are the (almost) nightly volleyball matches. This team game offers everything that some very popular disciplines lack: the advantage of positive emotions over aggression, recreation, passion, healthy commitment. But on the lakes it is also worthwhile to try out some water sports (e.g. canoeing) or just to have a good time on a sightseeing cruise. At the camps, we also do a lot of walking, sightseeing and are looking for active attractions – this year, for example, we visited  a rope park.

Holidays are a wonderful time – and we should not forget that in the midst of all the educational goals! After all, we also go away to relax, unwind and, last but not least, to bond with the group. In Piecki, we had a great time around the campfires and at the disco. We also spent a fun evening at the Masurian Cabaret Night. We all got maximum attention at the camp  – above all, from each other!

 

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