Kids explore culture, creativity at BAF Exuma Summer Camp

Wed, Aug 31st 2016, 09:03 AM

A world of culture and generational skills was recently opened up to scores of kids at the annual BAF Financial Summer Camp in the breathtaking Exuma chain of islands.

This year, 150 kids got to experience the beauty and diversity of the Exumas, as BAF held its second annual event.

The theme of the camp, "To discover, create and explore," allowed the teachers and employees of BAF's marketing department who staffed the camp, the chance to show kids the thrills of a traditional island summer, that many may miss out on in the age of video games and tablets.

The camp, held from Tuesday, July 12 to Saturday, July 16 at St. Andrew's Anglican Church Community Center in Georgetown, hosted kids from ages four to 15 with a little something for them all.

Fifteen kids who attended were from Nassau, with family ties to Exuma. The other kids all hailed from Exuma, with BAF bussing in dozens of kids from throughout Great Exuma.

Sports on Regatta Park, Junkanoo workshops, crabbing, traditional Bahamian music, craft and folklore, and nature exploration were the focus this year, as BAF accommodated a larger crowd than the 138 children who participated last summer.

BAF Marketing Director Cecelia Cooper coordinated the camp with six teachers - four from Exuma and two from Nassau.
She said it was all in an effort to give the kids a more culturally relevant and enriching experience.

"The kids went crabbing. We actually had to get the crabs locally first and release them to show them how to catch crabs, but they loved it because at the end we did crab and dough," she said.

"They did exploding, erupting volcanoes and all kinds of stuff. There were experiments every day. They also had music where they learned Bahamian songs and that formed a part of their presentation at the end when we did song and dance.

"There was a lot of folklore-type Bahamian heritage music. They enjoyed that a lot too. And for the arts and crafts, we used products from nature, like sand. And they decorated bottles, and made some really beautiful artifacts that they were able to keep."

Even the meals provided were planned out for their cultural connection to Exuma and an emphasis on eating healthy from the camp's canteen.

"They weren't quite as happy about that until the fun day at the end when we had French fries and cotton candy and popcorn and bouncing castles, but they ate the food every day and it was very nutritious," she said.

Cooper said mornings started with devotions and exercises meant to help the kids get to know each other better while using the environment to strengthen essential skills.

"It's about discovering how to think outside the box," she said. "If your mind can create it, you can do it. And we appeal to their creative side through the Junkanoo craft and arts and craft. And the science and exploration took them out of the classrooms and into the outdoors."

BAF President and CEO I. Chester Cooper, a native of Exuma, who remembers summers without all the distractions that kids face today, said the camp is about doing the most good possible for the kids while allowing them to have fun.

"It came from the idea of wanting children to have wholesome, exciting, fun stuff to do over the summer," he said.

"As a company, and personally, we're always passionate about young people. And helping these young people have some of the experiences in Exuma that I grew up doing that I've never forgotten has really been maybe more of treat for us than them. We just want to follow them as they grow and hope they'll have fulfilling lives and that they can be all that they can be and more."

BAF is hoping to add an outdoor camping element to the camp and a field trip to the salt beacons of Williams Town for next year.

The company is also expecting more kids to participate as the camp grows each year.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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