EVERETT — For one week each summer, children at Camp Cascadia journey into a world different from their own.
Every year, kids at the weeklong Christian camp at Cascade View Presbyterian Church* learn about a Third World country. This year the focus was Haiti, said volunteer Peggi LaPlante.
“We try to give the kids a cultural connection to the country,” she said.
The camp is set up by Cascade View Presbyterian Church in Everett. It was held July 20-25.
Last year’s country was Mongolia, and next summer children will be learning about Bolivia, LaPlante said. Kids vote on which country will be featured at the next camp.
Kids at the camp have “visited” a lot of countries over the years, LaPlante said. It all started 40 years ago, when a woman told her pastor she wanted to create a unique camp for kids. The seed was planted.
“The camp, for 40 years, has basically been the same as that first year,” LaPlante said.
Organizers wanted the camp to be affordable for more people, she said.
During the week, kids learn about the needs of children in the featured country and the problems in that country. They also learn a bit about geography. To give children a connection, organizers try to invite someone to speak about the country from personal experience, LaPlante said.
This summer, they invited a young woman who was adopted as a child from an orphanage in Haiti. She shared memories of sleeping on a dirt floor and being hungry, LaPlante said.
Besides learning about a foreign country, kids enjoy lots of fun activities throughout the week, LaPlante said. On Friday, after the family dinner, kids divide into groups to act out different Bible stories. Their creativity shines.
“There is a pink, stuffed flamingo that shows up in most of the Bible stories,” LaPlante said, laughing.
A school teacher from Edmonds, LaPlante has volunteered at the camp for many years. She said many people return to Camp Cascadia summer after summer.
“The people who come have such a heart for making the camp happen because it touches the lives of children,” she said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
*Correction, Aug. 8, 2009: This article originally listed the wrong location for the camp.
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