Organiser Sally Versveld said it was "a fantastic turnout" for the event which ran from Monday to Friday at the organisation's kitchen premises in Parkdene.
Focused around the theme, "Running the race of life: Adventures of David', the life of this Old Testament king as well as that of Jesus, were depicted to show the similarity with the children's own lives. These two men both experienced adversity during their teenage years but went on to make an impact in the world when they were adults. The children were given the message that no matter what their background is, they are destined for something great.
Teaching the cam-pers about the upcoming Olympics, about which, Sally confirmed, the child-ren knew very little, was also incorporated into the week's programme. Roger Run-a-lot, aka Jody Martins, shared his experience as an athlete to encourage the children, who also received a visit from five SWD Eagles rugby players on Thursday afternoon.
The youngsters, who hailed from va-rious areas in George such as Parkdene, New Dawn Park, Thembalethu and Protea Park, were divided into age appropriate teams and played games, participated in drama, songs and small group discussions, and enjoyed a hot meal every day. The programme, which is based on the USA's 'Kids' Game' programme, started at midday and was facilitated by a team of 30 staff and youth volunteers who underwent three weeks of training before the club started.
Sally confirmed that after the club's conclusion, Life staff would do follow-up work such as house visits and welfare interventions where necessary.
Monte Oelf allows Maryna de Vries, CEO of Life Community Services, to demonstrate how people used to wash each other's feet in Biblical times.
