This July, for the first time in four years, a national Tzu Ching Humanities Camp was held in Durban. It was one of the longest camps, spanning from 3 to the 6 July, with over a hundred participants (learners).
- by Mei Lee -
 |
| Photo by: Derrick Lu |
The July Humanities Camp is more focused on spreading the Tzu Chi ideology and encouraging more people to join our cause and help those in need. During the course of the camp, we had guest speakers give talks to us (usually the senior Tzu Chi brothers and sisters, and also some of the Tzu Chings) throughout the day. They covered many different topics ranging from the journey to becoming vegetarian; how we can help to give back to society, the impacts of technology, the ways of Tzu Chi; news about our local Tzu Chi volunteers as well as the growth of our local Tzu Chi branches. We also played some field games to build teamwork and nurture relations within the camp.
 |
| Photo by: Shu-Chen Hou |
On the second evening, a night market was held as a throwback of sorts to the famous night markets of Taiwan. All the stalls were manned by our very own Curriculum team members, with help from the Catering team and camp workers. There were games to be played and delicious foods to be tried. Foods like vegetarian meat, dim sum, vegetarian sushi, vermicelli stir fry, tofu pudding and bubble tea all made an appearance to everyone's delight.
On our last night of camp, a general assembly was held with a sign language performance (signing has become an integral and synonymous part of Tzu Chi culture) by the Tzu Chings and the senior Tzu Chi brothers and sisters. Sadly, we also had to say goodbye to some of our long time Tzu Chings who have decided to leave South Africa, either to pursue studies or to relocate.
 |
| Photo by: Larry Liu |
 |
| Photo by: Larry Liu |
However, the camp ended on a high, if not slightly tearful note. On the final day of camp, a special closing ceremony is held, each participant is given a souvenir to remind them of the friends and memories made during the camp. Photographs or videos from the entire camp are played, as it is also a time for the learners and workers to share their thoughts and reflections about the camp. Some of the learners came up to talk about how affected they were by some of the lessons, some came up to talk about the bonds they made in the camp; a learner even came up to talk about the struggles he had to face in life but after joining Tzu Chi and becoming a Tzu Ching, he was able to surround himself with people who really cared for him and who he cared about in return.
One of our workers also came up to talk about how affected he was by one of the lessons and shared with us his frustrations at not being a filial enough son to his parents. This goes to show how much effort is put into the lessons being presented and it shows how much the learners are able to engage the speakers. The closing ceremony is always the best way to judge whether the camp was a hit or a miss, and judging by the accounts of the participants; this camp was a definite success.
Preparations for this large scale camp began 3 months earlier, with regular Skype meetings to organise and set up daily schedules and to find a location for the camp. The camp worker groups must really be congratulated for undertaking such a mammoth taks and going out of their way to make the camp atmosphere fun, homely and memorable. With this year's impressive turnout now behind us, I think there are quite a few of you who cannot wait for next year's July Camp.
