United Kenyans of Chicago

United Kenyans of Chicago held its inaugural youth camp at the Reynoldswoods Camp in Dixon, IL from July 14th-17th 2009.

The campers ranged from ages 6-16 with a mix of “rookie” campers along with some veterans of the outdoors safari lifestyle. The “diggz” during this adventure were two His-&-Hers cabins – the perfect rustic setting to nurture dialogue and promote strong co-existence with nature and each other.

Campers had some rather frank discussions about values and it was fascinating to hear from the young campers about their unique perspectives on what is important to them at this stage of their lives. They also shared about the challenges they face as Kenyan-Americans growing up in the US, and a valuable lesson was also handed down on the rich meaning of the colors of the flag of Kenya.

The camp was not a “Camp David” vacation by any stretch of the imagination. The campers did participate in outdoor activities including swimming, basketball, paper mache, plus a team challenge event over a low ropes course. They also went on a midnight hike wearing glow sticks which looked astounding in the dark and made the night pop! They also embarked on a GPS scavenger hunt which took them all over the 75 acre campsite. And as if that was not enough fun, they also took some archery lessons, plus had some remarkable times around a campfire each night roasting marshmallows, making S’mores and telling stories/riddles. To add to the enjoyment one of the camp staff had a really powerful telescope and invited the campers to see the planet Jupiter with four of its moons, as well as Saturn with its rings!

It was a really F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C experience – late nights and early mornings! The campers also shot a movie which they rated “L”  for LAME.  Ronald Bukusi led the creation and management of the camp.