Camps are more than just a break from the usual academic routine; they are transformative experiences that shape students’ character, skills, and memories. Senior Camp 2024 and Grammar Camp 2024 provided unique opportunities for students to grow in resilience, teamwork, and leadership while celebrating their achievements. These camps exemplify how engaging environments outside the classroom can inspire personal growth and lifelong learning.

Senior Camp 2024: Celebrating Resilience and Grit

The Senior Camp was organized to celebrate the Class of 2023 KCPE graduates (Form One students) and to recognize the accomplishments of Form Three 2024 students. The camp’s theme, “Developing Resilience and Grit,” emphasized the importance of passion and perseverance in overcoming obstacles to succeed in high school. Held from Monday, 18th November to Friday, 22nd November 2024, the camp took place at Naivasha West Beach Camp, Kongoni, Naivasha, in Nakuru County. A total of 52 campers were in attendance and they were divided into four teams of 13 members each, with distinct T-shirt colors for easy identification. By the end of the camp, the Yellow Team emerged as the winners of the 2024 camp competitions.

Camp Activities

1. Arts and Crafts
   • Campers learned to create friendship bracelets using lettered beads and string. This activity fostered creativity and resourcefulness, showing participants how to make art from readily available materials. The skills learned could even be applied to create items for income generation.
2. GRIT Training
   • Teams participated in training sessions focused on developing GRIT—the combination of passion and perseverance. Students explored the skills necessary to navigate challenges in high school, such as peer pressure and demanding academic schedules.
3. Leadership Development
   • Students were taught essential leadership skills, including setting goals, overcoming challenges, building confidence, effective communication, teamwork, and collaboration. These sessions aimed to prepare students for leadership roles in their schools and communities.
4. Field Trip to Hell’s Gate and Geothermal Spa
   • Participants enjoyed a field trip to explore historic sites in the Rift Valley. They also learned about geothermal energy production from hot springs at the KenGen facility, enriching their understanding of Kenya’s natural resources and sustainable energy.

1. Crazy Olympics Sports
   • A series of fun and engaging games encouraged teamwork and problem-solving among students. These activities provided an opportunity for light-hearted competition and bonding.
2. Nine-Series Obstacle Race
   • Campers competed in a challenging obstacle course designed to test their problem-solving abilities, perseverance, and teamwork. The nine-series challenge was a highlight of the camp, emphasizing resilience under pressure.

Grammar Camp 2024: A Celebration of Young Champions

This year’s Grammar Camp was a memorable and thrilling adventure held at Stedmark Gardens. Organized to celebrate students’ achievements throughout the year and mark their transition to new academic classes, the camp embraced the inspiring theme, “Celebrating Our Young Champions,” continuing the tradition from last year. The event brought together 30 enthusiastic students from Grades 4 and 6.

Activities

The camp’s schedule was packed with a variety of fun and educational activities designed to engage and inspire students:

• Visit to the Animal Park

The highlight of the camp was an educational visit to the Animal Park, where students explored fascinating habitats and wildlife. Guided by experts, students learned about birds, snakes, lions, monkeys, tortoises, deer, llamas, crocodiles, monitor lizards, and ostriches. 

• Amusement Park Adventures

The amusement park was a hub of thrills and laughter as students enjoyed bouncing castles, a train ride, and other entertaining activities. The vibrant atmosphere added an extra layer of excitement to their day.

• Swimming

A heated swimming pool provided a refreshing break for students. It was a perfect setting for relaxation, bonding, and engaging in aquatic fun.

• Photography

Encouraged to capture their experiences, students embraced photography as a creative outlet. This activity not only fostered their creativity but also helped preserve the camp’s cherished memories.

Conclusion

The Senior Camp 2024 and Grammar Camp 2024 demonstrated the incredible value of camps in students’ lives, offering avenues for skill-building, exploration, and celebration. Through activities that challenged their minds, bodies, and creativity, participants forged lasting bonds and discovered new strengths. Camps like these are vital in nurturing the champions and resilient leaders of tomorrow.

Join us in transforming lives today!

The Ngong Road Children’s Foundation organized a transformative Senior Camp from November 13th to November 17th, 2023, at the scenic Naivasha West Beach camp in Kongoni, Nakuru County. The camp aimed to celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2022 KCPE graduates as they transitioned to Form One and acknowledge the accomplishments of the Form Three students of 2023. Under the overarching theme of “Developing Resilience and Grit,” the camp set out to instill passion and perseverance in the face of challenges to empower the students for success in high school.

A total of 43 campers enthusiastically participated, joined by a dedicated team of 12 staff members. To facilitate organization, the campers were divided into four teams, each comprising 10-11 members, each team distinguished by vibrant T-shirt colors. The spirited competition throughout the camp culminated in the yellow team being crowned as the victorious champions of the 2023 camp competitions.

The camp was a holistic experience, offering a diverse range of activities to enrich the participants physically, mentally, and emotionally:

Arts and Crafts: The students engaged in creativity through arts and crafts, where they learned to fashion friendship bracelets using lettered beads and string. This activity served a dual purpose of nurturing artistic expression and imparting entrepreneurial skills by demonstrating how readily available resources could be transformed into marketable items.

GRIT Training: Teams delved into the concept of GRIT, understanding the skills necessary to cultivate perseverance, particularly in the challenging environment of high school. This training equipped students with tools to navigate obstacles, ranging from academic pressures to peer influence.

Leadership and Motivation: Students were introduced to the servant leadership model, exploring the characteristics of effective leaders. The camp emphasized that leadership is a skill that can be acquired, dispelling the notion that one must be born a leader.

Field Trip to Hells Gate and Geothermal Spa: A field trip to Hells Gate and Geothermal Spa provided a unique learning experience, allowing students to explore historic sites in the Rift Valley and witness power generation from hot springs by KenGen. This excursion broadened their understanding of the environment and sustainable energy practices.

Crazy Olympics Sports: The camp incorporated fun and laughter with Crazy Olympics sports, including balloon relays and egg spoon relays, fostering teamwork and problem-solving skills in a lighthearted atmosphere.

Nine Series Obstacle Race: The pinnacle of physical and mental challenges came in the form of a Nine Series Obstacle Race. Students engaged in a series of tasks designed to test their problem-solving skills, promoting resilience and adaptability.

The Senior Camp of 2023 was an immersive experience that not only celebrated achievements but also equipped students with essential life skills. Through a carefully curated mix of activities, the camp fostered creativity, perseverance, leadership, and teamwork, laying a solid foundation for the participants as they embarked on their high school journey. 

We had to put our summer camp on hold since the start of COVID-19 in 2020. After things calmed down in 2022, we redesigned the camp to ensure that students have fun while also gaining educational value. Instead of having a general camp for the high school and post-secondary students, we introduced a career camp meant to educate students, especially new KCSE graduates preparing to join colleges and universities on career training and college and university applications. 

The camp took place at Naivasha West Beach Camp which is on the shores of Lake Naivasha from Friday, the 21st of April to Sunday, the 23rd. The camp theme was “WePower PS Career Camp” which translates to “We are Empowering the Post-Secondary students through this camp”. The students were able to demonstrate this through the discussions that they had with their paired buddies, who were selected Post-Secondary students in the different career fields that our high school graduates aspire to pursue, and external facilitators who we invited. This was to ensure that the high school graduates of 2022 can be able to fully understand the careers available, the placement process, and post-secondary life and move together as a team.

We had a total of 53 campers that included 26 high school graduates, and 15 buddies. We had a number of career development programs in store for the high school graduates which was the main purpose of the camp. Nelson, a guest speaker, from Generation Kenya facilitated a career discussion about selecting career choices based on interest and enthusiasm, as well as the effect that it makes. A representative from Zetech University also guided the graduates through courses, institutional selection, and placement. They were educated on how the Kenya University and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) handles placements. This is in regard to cluster points and subject combinations. 

We also had buddy group discussions that were facilitated by the selected buddies. The buddies were able to clearly explain how things work in higher learning institutions in specific relation to the courses they were taking. This enabled the graduates to have a better understanding of the various courses they had selected as their most preferred courses. The campers also enjoyed all sorts of activities ranging from summer Olympics, obstacle races, balloon relay, music and dance, swimming and team building activities. These activities were meant to be both fun and forge a teamwork spirit.   

The camp was successful and we would like to extend our gratitude to all donors and sponsors for the education support they accord our students. We would also love to thank the teams from Generation Kenya and Zetech University for honoring our invitation and sharing knowledge with the campers.