It’s June, and you know what that means—Summer Camp! South
Street Ministries’ Summer Camp started this past week (June 17th).
Up until now, my job as the intern has been to become integrated with South Street.
During this time, I have attended Bike Shop and Urban Gardens, two youth
programs that South Street runs. Bike Shop is a program that offers youth of
the neighborhood an opportunity to earn a bike by working at the Bike Shop a
certain amount of hours depending on their age. Responsibility, integrity, and
work ethic are the learning outcomes of this program. Urban Gardens entails the
up keeping of two neighborhood gardens. The youth meet two times a week to
water, plant, weed, and harvest the produce of the Gardens. At the end of the
summer, the youth will have a sale of the produce and split the profits,
learning how to manage their earnings.
I’m incredibly excited for
Summer Camp to start moving through the upcoming weeks. This last month has
been a time of brainstorming to prepare for camp. We’ve thought of Mayhem
Mondays (play), Tactile Tuesdays (create), Wondrous Wednesdays (explore), and
Thankful Thursdays (reflect). These names remind us of the holistic vision to
maintain for Summer Camp. My desire for Summer Camp is that the youth would
leave empowered, encouraged, and know
that they are supported by summer’s end.
There is an elephant in the room that I’ve found myself having to
address the past month as I’ve been in South Street and the surrounding areas. My
cultural lens comes from one who identifies as white and has life experiences
in a middle class, financially stable environment, and a stable home life. The
kids I am working with this summer are growing up in a cultural lens of
identification as black, and a primarily lower-class environment. Beyond that,
I don’t want to make generalizations, as each child’s situation is different,
but I have seen instances of unstable home lives and financial situations among
the youth. I don’t know what it’s like for the girl who wishes her mom had a
car. I don’t know what it’s like to grow up in an area that many label as
“dangerous.” I’m far removed from these
youth’s experiences based on my own life experiences.
May your summer be filled
with joy in the midst of pain, perseverance in the midst of trials, and love at
the center of all.
For more information on South Street Ministries: www.southstreetministries.org
No comments:
Post a Comment