Interviewed by Máirín Mc Sweeney of Lake Aid.
Suzanne, can you tell us a little about how the camps began, and how long they have been running for?
Since 2010, I have been organizing mini English camps for my friends’ children.
Over the years, I also invited children of asylum-seeking families that I had sheltered. I am happy to keep in touch with them this way, as some families have been accommodated far from Annecy. Therefore, I began to collaborate with Lake Aid who has kindly accepted to cover the expenses for the last two years’ camps (3 times a year). Ten years later, the group has grown and I had to split it over 4 weeks this summer: 10 children enjoyed a full stay from one to three weeks in their French home! Others joined for the day, so all in all 30 children felt cared for during these long holidays.
What kind of activities do you put together for the kids, and do you get any help from others for that?
I mainly offer outdoor activities because I find that most families don’t have the energy to take their kids to work out and because I like to be outside on my vacation. I am obviously looking for activities that cost nothing (swimming in the lake, bike slips in the hamlet, walks, picnics, treasure hunts, etc.), but there is always a treat: the pedal boat in summer and the ice rink, or the swimming pool in winter. We also visited the Chateau de Menthon and took a boat ride.
Of course, we also take advantage of quiet time (or not) at home: board games, reading, English courses, crafts, cooking, pancake parties, movie or story night, etc. . The winter colonies coincide with the Cinémino festival, so we go to the cinema two or three times over the week. For some events, we also invite unaccompanied minors living in Annecy area, for example for the pedal boat outings and even once, for an accrobranche!
In winter, I often get help to drive up to Le Grand Bornand as we need two cars and because I am not confident enough to help the kids ice-skating!
This summer, we had around 20 Lake Aid volunteers : some joined us at the beach to bring the picnic and help watch the children swimming; some cooked and brought dinner for 8 people; others organized outings:
- a short hike in Montmin followed by a lovely afternoon in their swimming pool;
- a paddle and canoe outing in Doussard.
In August, for the last summer camp, as some children required English lessons, several volunteers were present every day to help with the other kids and their children could join the lessons or the activities. Two volunteers helped with the English lessons, and others did craft and cooking activities with the little ones. For once we had a dad, so one group played football and built a wooden house.
Of course, I am also grateful that my brothers allow me to welcome these joyful teams in our picturesque family home!
So, a lot of children from asylum seeking families have passed through your camps. What do you think the children appreciate most about these weeks?
Since they usually don’t have relatives in France and no-one to visit for the holidays, we all became like the extended family of each other. Unaccompanied minors enjoy the family atmosphere they miss so much.
With the group growing from year to year, it’s hard to make them understand that I have to do several camps and that they won’t necessarily be able to be all together. They always ask when they can come back and invite each other as if it was their home. This is precisely what gives me the inspiration to do it again and again!
Do you have any special memories that you can share with us?
I have a lot of happy memories, but I would give a +++ to the last summer camp at the end of August 2020, because of the collaboration with other volunteers, uniting our respective talents.
One situation has deeply moved me : an unaccompanied minor asking me if he could reveal something that was a burden in his life, because, he said, two « elders » of the group had told him he could fully trust me and speak.
If there was anything you need help with to improve the children’s experience in the camps what would it be?
We are a great team, but there is a lack of dynamic dads to get the boys playing and encourage them for life: these children have no parents, or no dad, or a dad who is not allowed to work … It was really precious, on three occasions this summer, to be able to count on male volunteers (tree climbing, hiking in Montmin and the last week, an asylum seeker who came to help every day) .
Can you sum up in one sentence what these camps mean to the children who attend them?
I hope they can forget for a while… the context of daily struggle when they sometimes have to carry heavy secrets or to be the interpreter of the family, telling a story their parents would certainly prefer not to involve them in.
You must be logged in to post a comment.