The camp is composed of two portions. The first, which will take place from July 11 to 22, will cater to health and wellness while the second, which will start in August and take place at the Garapan Community Center, will have a more cultural aspect to it and pertain to arts and crafts.
The Division of Youth Services with the help of the CNMI Area Health Education Center, a program under Northern Marianas College, has organized the summer experience.
Orrin Pharmin, AHEC’s program coordinator, explains how the kids are divided up into three groups according to their age. The three main groups are soccer, softball, and basketball.
Within the groups, there are an assortment of mini activities the kids partake in including hula hoop, Simon Says, and many other physical activities.
“It’s definitely good for the kids to get out of the house, to get outside, to get active, and to get involved with sports,” says Les Ogumoro, also under AHEC.
She explains how throughout the week, the youth will hear from different speakers from different health professions including the Department of Public Health, Hardt Eye Clinic, and Marianas Health Services.
Yesterday, Officer Jason Tarkong discussed public safety with the children. He also enlightened them with words of advice.
Some parents who were present yesterday shared their feelings about the program.
“It’s my daughter’s first year and she is so excited,” says a mother, Ezeth Smith. “I even bought her new shoes for this.”
She explains that she put her daughter in the program because, “I want her to have more exposure to sports, especially since she’s a girl. So far, she’s really enjoying it.”
She continues, “It’s a very helpful program. Especially since a lot of summer camps can be expensive, but this one is free. We only had to pay five dollars for health insurance.”
Another mother, Nits Canate, says, “It is good exposure for the kids. Also, the sunshine is great. It’s an interesting program and it’s really good for the summer. Rather than staying home and watching TV, the kids are out doing this.”
The mothers also noted on the beauty of having so many kids from different schools getting along so well.
About 20 volunteers, including individuals from DYS and Garapan Community Center’s Workforce Investment Agency workers have stepped up to help out with the summer program.
Ogumoro says there are close to 200 kids enrolled in the camp.
