Abingdonian 2017

81 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term had kindly expanded the usual itinerary by arranging for us to run a second summer camp at a school in the village of Zimbreni in addition to the usual camp in Ialoveni. The next three days were a real eye opener to us all as each day over 70 kids poured into the small school, all excited and expectant. We started each day with ‘getting to know each other’ games which included ‘splat’ and ‘duck duck goose’ although someone should have told Joe that we were trying to encourage and entertain the children rather than thrashing them at every opportunity! After the icebreaker, we undertook more organised activities (a quick flurry of ideas was sometimes required when our pre-planning had failed us) which included sport, English and art, and it was astonishing to see the children’s dedication and drive to learn English and participate in all activities. They showed strength and determination and incessant happiness - surprising, given the less than ideal circumstances they lived in. They were inspiring! A highlight at Zimbreni was the annual Moldova vs Abingdon football match – but what started as a friendly game turned sour when Head of School Ben Hall showed his passion to the cause by wiping out a Moldovan from behind! After three amazing days, the only thing left to do was say ‘goodbye’ to Moldova and take a party of 30 children with us on the long nine-hour drive to Romania. A cabin in the stunning Romanian mountains would be our base for the next week. A quick search to find a signal or WiFi resulted in no luck (could we live without our mobile devices for a week? Who knew!) The long journey had taken its toll on all of us, so we decided on a few name games before the children went to sleep. For the rest of us, it was board games before bed - soon a Connect 4 challenge was in play. To say there were more than a few non-strategic thinkers amongst us is an understatement (Mr O’Doherty included!) The next three days were comprised of activities, run by us in the mornings, followed by excursions in the afternoon. A real highlight was the picturesque mountain walk which was as steep as it was beautiful, and proved a challenge to us all. Equally stunning was a gorge walk and an afternoon of rowing boats on the Red Lake. An Apprentice styled game where we had 20 lei to buy five items resulted in a dubious win for a rival team, much to the dismay of myself, Ben and Harry Walsh. The final night was soon upon us and we watched the videos we had scripted, acted, filmed and attempted to edit the previous day as one of our activities. It highlighted that there was no ‘Spielberg’ amongst us! But they were great fun to make and the children loved showing off their acting prowess. Then it was time for the much anticipated Lacu Rosu’s Got Talent. What started well, with a never to be forgotten joint dance by Corina and Joe, gradually got worse when I sadly managed to hit all the wrong notes in a less than inspired operatic performance and Mrs O’Doherty collapsed in a fit of giggles during her recorder recital. Overall, this was an absolutely incredible ten day trip where we not only learned a great deal about the children and the importance of the work Agape provide, but we also learned a lot about ourselves! Some amazing friendships were made and will never be forgotten. We would all like to thank Mr and Mrs O’Doherty for giving up their time to assist and support us and special thanks to Mr Jenkins without whom this amazing trip would not be possible. I would encourage anyone who is considering going to take the opportunity as it really is an experience never to be forgotten! Daniel Lawson, 6MFFC