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“Poem” by Julia (Age 15, NM, USA)
If you’d asked me where I would be three months ago
NYC would not fall from my lips, not WYA camp, no.
But here I am, in the city
of the Statue of Liberty
learning about the home of the world leaders
and how they can sometimes be people pleasers.
The sun in Central Park kisses my skin
while I accidentally kick someone’s shin;
the bruises will be there tomorrow
but for the child brides in Zambia I save my sorrow.
Having six bunnies at home I thought I knew it all.
But bunny bunny has taught me more than the “coucha coucha” call
at governor’s island I regained some freedom
but riding bikes is not the only freeing thing, and then some
the FEMM program taught more about me
than I thought was possible to clearly see
violent games of spoons left me laughing
the talent at our show left me clapping
our day camp reminded me that I am a leader
and the sweltering weather made me feel like I was in a heater
I affirmed that only humans have dignity
but I love dogs, so I’ll say they have dognity
from seriously smart to ridiculously fun
the smile I had on my face when we went kayaking wasn’t the only one
though I didn’t see Donald Trump
I had more fun taking photos of a cool tree stump
the photography workshop freed me in more ways than one
and by the time the day was done
I fell asleep thinking of all the productive things I did during the day
and how I liked it that way
I hope when I leave there is nary a tear
because I really hope that I come back next year.
“Two-Week Long Summer Highlight” by Julie (Age 16, NY, USA)
I cannot imagine a better way to have been introduced to the World Youth Alliance other than the summer camp. The past two weeks have been so eye-opening and enjoyable that I look forward to future involvement with WYA by undergoing ‘Track A’ training. At camp I learned a range of different things. I learned all about the human dignity in addition to the different levels of life, freedom and the difference between a subject and object.
I also learned how to kayak and play a series of new games one of which is the highly entertaining ‘bunny-bunny’. Part of what makes a camp fun is the other campers and counselors. They were absolutely incredible people from different corners of the world. Although summer vacation has not yet come to a complete end, I can already tell that WYA’s summer camp is going to be an experience that will be extremely hard to top!
“Thank You WYA!” by Mariana (Age 18, Chihuahua, Mexico)
Hi, my name is Mariana and I’m from Chihuahua City, México. Since the beginning of this camp I have learned a lot of things. First through many amazing workshops about WYA and also through talking to the WYA staff and campers, because you get to hear about many different points of view, ideas and cultures.
We are all from different parts of the world and we are learning all of these new things together and playing all these fun games (like “bunny, bunny”, ultimate frisbee etc). We’ve also had the opportunity to go swimming and kayaking in addition to all of the WYA workshops, given by the interns and staff, on photography and FEMM (Fertility Education Medical Management). I’ve also learned through simple small talk that I have had with all these amazing WYA staff members.
We also met with “Elevate NYC” (a non-profit dedicated to building long-term, life-changing relationships with urban youth) students and teachers, and we explained some of the workshops of WYA and they talked to us about their programs for improving youth. During this Summer Camp, I got to know many incredible people from different countries, of different ages, and with different talents and knowledge.
The camp is almost over, and I’m so happy I came, it’s such an incredible experience. I had such a great time learning, playing, and meeting all these people. I’m very sad because it is going to end but I’m taking all this knowledge to México, because it really changed my mind and my way of thinking. I learned so many things that I can use in my normal life with my school, friends and family. I just want to pass this knowledge of WYA to more people, because it helps me to see things in a more global way. So the only thing left to say is thank you, WYA, thanks to all the people that make this possible. I had a great time
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