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On
Saturday, November 10th the Global Village hosted 90+ middle school
youth and their counselors—a test if
you will! The youth came in 3 waves of 30—to learn with their minds, hearts and
hands about some of the conditions in which folks live in developing countries.
The Global Village was
staffed by volunteers— Barley Krieger, Emma
Van Scoy, Doug Michel, Pat Durham, Judy Nebrig and Buzz Durham, assisted by
Presbyterian Youth Council leaders and Josh from Camp Grier.
The youth were introduced to the
Village and some of challenges faced by folks living in developing countries. They
were divided into 5 teams and took part in a variety of tasks to help build the
Village: Addition boards were nailed to the refugee shelter, charcoal
briquettes were made from charred corn cobs and husks, rubber tires were flipped
for the Haitian Yard Garden and holes were dug and the foundation built for the
bench for the raised bed garden. In
addition, a composting bin was erected close to the future gardens and a fire
pit was created. The fire pit, a luxury in developing countries because of
limited fuel, will serve in the Global Village as a site for evening reflection
and as a gathering place where community decisions can be made.
As the youth worked on their
tasks they, along with their team leaders, talked about challenging conditions brought about by poverty –
conditions, such as poor health, limited food and nutrition, unsafe water and poor
sanitation. Following each work session the youth gathered and shared their
experience with each other.
As the youth were introduced to the
Global Village, an opportunity was provided for the GV team to test one of the possible
teaching models that will be used to facilitate a Village experience. Thanks to
the middle school youth, their counselors, and the Presbytery Youth Council for
making this important experience happen.
The experience provided us a rich opportunity to learn and prepare as we
move toward the June 2013 opening of the Global Village. The experience will be
shared with the Global Village team who is hard at work creating the curriculum
for future village experiences.
Much work will be done in the
Village this winter as the village infrastructure continues to be built and
completed in anticipation of the June 2013 Opening. We are beginning to see daylight and move
forward with great enthusiasm. If you would like to schedule a volunteer group work
day at the Village contact Dave Cohn at Camp Grier dave@campgrier.org.
An Opportunity To Donate to the Global Village Effort!
The
following items are needed:
- Used hand tools—hammers, saws, shovels, hoes and wheel barrows
- Large durable pots (1-3 gallon) and metal pie tins for tableware (Needed for the village kitchen)
- Money (always in short supply)—donations for village construction and curriculum development will be greatly appreciated.
Please consider giving a
gift to Camp Grier Global Village in honor of friends this Christmas.
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