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november 2011

FIMCAP Green DAy

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Link november 2011 | Editors: Pascal Vonlanthen, Marvic Debono, Lea Sedlmayr | Translation: Ramon Canal, Celia Martín Andrade, Marleen Deblonde, Nathalie Laguela, Queralt Alsina, Annette Leimer, Saiby Mathew | Layout: Jan Van Bostraeten, Valerie Van der Looy | Contact: link@fimcap.org, www.fimcap.org, info@fimcap.org |

Dear FIMCAP friends

When I was 11 I heard the word ‘FIMCAP’ for the first time. I

remember the leader of my group telling me that NIPPAC was part

of FIMCAP. At that time, I did not know how wonderful FIMCAP was,

not until I took part in the World Camp where I shared with many

their cultures and languages while living common solidarity.

Now, I am part of the preparation group of the World Camp. It is a new experience for me within FIMCAP. I

have a big responsibility which I will take on courageously.

We are preparing an unforgettable World Camp and the best part is that there are new volunteers in the

organization who will help us realize it.

FIMCAP means taking new adventures and living new experiences. FIMCAP is based on our volunteering to

make this world a better one. Everything you do is one step forward. We invite you to be a volunteer and

share your time, your energy and your hope.

I hope to see you soon in Paraguay!

Lourdes Beatriz Galeano Cuellar, FIMCAP Latin America

editorial

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november 2011

CAlenDAr

FImCAP Activities

FIMCAP Day Green Day 20 November 2011

Euroconference ZAK Malta 24–27 November 2011

Speeddating seminar on Roundabouts Italy 07 – 11 December 2011

Conference FIMCAP Asia ICYM India 28 – 30 December 2011

Intercontinental Bureau Meeting Antwerp, Belgium 27 – 30 March 2012

FIMCAP 50th anniversary volunteer’s reunion Rome, Italy 30 March – 1 April 2012

Eurocourse KJG Germany 30 March – 4 April 2012

Chaplains meeting Italy 17 – 20 April 2012

World Camp Nippac Paraguay 14 July – 2 August 2012

FIMCAP Latin America meeting Paraguy 4 ¬– 5 August 2012

Eurocamp Jubla Switzerland 4 – 11 August 2012

Intercontinental Bureau Meeting Antwerp, Belgium 4 – 7 October 2012

member organisations’ activities

Ranfttreffen Jubla Sarnen, Switzerland 17–18 December 2011

LInK: editions 2011(Send articles and photos to link@FIMCAP.org. Maximum length: 3500 characters or 700 words)

Edition Deadline for articles Send out01/2012 15 Nov 2011 January 201202/2012 15 Feb 2012 April 201203/2012 15 May 2012 July 201204/2012 15 Sept 2012 November 2012

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Volunteering: The Power of you(th) FIMCAP organizations consist of people – committed young people – who deeply believe in the voluntary work they perform within their organization and within society. The term ‘volunteering’ is conditioned by multiple factors including ethnic traditions, religious beliefs, and legal regulations. We all look at it from a different perspective. However, volunteering within FIMCAP keeps its member organiza-tions focused on young people. That is why ‘volunteering’ is closely tied to ‘po-wer’– because young people within FIMCAP organizations are the providers and beneficiaries of the work being done. Therefore the year 2011 is to be the year for celebrating volunteer work. It is also to make everyone around us recognize the positive outcomes of the work of organizations who work for, with and by young people and for the society, especially with regards to CLIMATE CHANGE.

‘It is in giving that we receive’ (St. Francis of Assisi)FIMCAP organisations acknowledge the fact that the nature of every Christian believer drives individuals to seek ways to be at the service of others. Conse-quently FIMCAP organisations’ work addresses three levels, thus targeting a

threefold effect:Í On the personal level

Í On organisational level

Í On society level

On the personal levelWhat is the main motivation for young people to volunteer? Some of the most common aspects may be:

Í To have fun

Í To make a difference

Í To acquire new skills and get to know

new realities

Í For personal growth and development

Í To be together with friends

Í To lead a spiritual life

Í The desire to do something good for

others and society

Í To contribute to an initiative which is

close at heart

Í To feel a sense of achievement

The fact that so many young people are willing to be part of volunteering initiatives within our organizations is indeed a blessing. Young people feel confident, useful and proud of what they are doing through recognition of their voluntary work. Consequently, FIMCAP organisations intend to provide further support to young people to continue in their voluntary work within the respective organisation as well as within FIMCAP network.

FIMCAP Year theme 2011

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On organisational levelWhat do FIMCAP organisations achieve with volunteering? The most immediate result is the direct provision of service that young people render on a day to day basis within their own groups. In itself this work force is an investment in the capacity building of every organi-sation. FIMCAP organizations recog-nize their responsibility towards their volunteers and facilitate their learning through non-formal education.While youth organizations recognize

non-formal education and volunteering as an important learning experience, this recognition is often missing in society and economy. It is crucial for the future of young people that non-formal education and volunteering are respected as values within these sectors as well.

Moreover, volunteering on an interna-tional level such as in FIMCAP enhances the networking between the various

organisations, thus promoting com-mon understanding, support and encouragement. FIMCAP organisations intend to recognise volunteering and thus acknowledge young people’s role as contributors. This is expected to provoke a ripple of enthusiasm on an organisational level, be it national, continental or international.

On society levelThe voluntary world is in the gift eco-nomy where a service is regularly given without a monetary reward. Voluntee-ring does not follow the logic of the economy. Young people do not expect financial profit but see a deeper sense in their work. In this light, volunteering is perceived as a benefit for a society which is more commonly used to the terms of loss and profit.

Within FIMCAP, volunteering is regar-ded as a benefit for society in general. Young volunteers are connected by

their experience, through their working in similar circumstances and facing similar challenges. An interesting sense of togetherness thus comes to exist, friendship and a sense of belonging – essential ingredients for social cohesi-on. In this respect FIMCAP organisations shall continue to promote a sense of ownership for the work being done and enhance the sense of contribution.

At the same time FIMCAP organisations endeavour to promote volunteering in their contexts. They continue to chal-

lenge young people to explore various experiences especially in education, leadership and politics. In other words, through volunteering, FIMCAP orga-nisations equip young people with valuable skills and experience. Apart from the fact that such traits should promote entrepreneurial skills and support young people to become more employable, society has the comfort of knowing there is a continuous invest-ment in the formation of better citizens who can shape their reality in a me-aningful manner.

This is our year theme 2011 statement. The year is nearly over now and we look back at many fruitful discussions,

experiences and activities around volunteering. The topic has not only been discussed in the Intercontinental Bu-

reau, but very closely on the regional conferences of Africa and Europe and soon also in Asia.

Volunteering was addressed in the activities like Eurocamp and Eurocourse, as well as in LINK and many different

types of activities held by FIMCAP member organisations around the globe. It followed us also to all the represen-

tations, for example the Convention of Volunteering, and in our networks. It is impressive how far our first year

theme took us already and we are happy to see how many member organisations picked it up. That is the power of

you(th)!

The results and materials will be posted on www.fimcap.org; we hope that this year’s ideas will stay with us, used

and further explored in the future. There is a new year theme for next year which asks about today’s children’s and

youth’s needs: What do you(th) need?!

Lea Sedlmayr, FIMCAP President

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In 2012 FIMCAP will celebrate its 50th anniversary! Time for a party! Some hIStoryAfter several years of cooperation bet-ween French, Belgian and Dutch youth movements, a plan for an international association appeared for the first time in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1959: Associ-ation Jeunesses Paroissiales Générales (General Parish Youth Association).

In 1960, on the sidelines of the Munich Eucharistic Congress, a first conference of the Communautés Générales de la Jeunesse Paroissiale (General Commu-nities of Parochial Youth) took place, bringing together delegates from many different organisations and movements.

It was also in Munich in October 1961 that 11 organisations and movements from the four continents met to found the Fédération Internationale des Mou-vements Catholiques d’Action Paroissia-le – FIMCAP (International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements).

orgAnISAtIonS thAt were PreSent were:Í Chirojeugd Vlaanderen (Belgium) Í Fédération Nationale des Patros

(Belgium) Í Katholische Jungmänner Gemein-

schaft (Federal Republic

of Germany)Í Oeuvres St.Vincent de

Paul (France) Í Katholieke Jongenclubs

(Netherlands) Í Jong Nederland (Nether-

lands) Í Schweizer Katholischer

Jungmannschaftsver-band (Switzerland)

Í Chiro Burundi Í Kiro Congo Í La Centrale del Patros

Quebec (Canada) Í Chiro Baguito City (Philippines)

The birth of FIMCAP was announced during Easter celebrations, at a large pilgrimage that brought together over 1000 participants in Rome in April 1962.

In 1976 the Holy See officially recogni-sed FIMCAP as being an International Catholic Organisation, and since then FIMCAP is registered at the Council of Laity in Rome. In 2006, FIMCAP was recognized as a legal international non profit organisation by the Belgian governement.

StArt oF the AnnIverSAry yeAr

The anniversary year started officially on the World Youth Day in Spain in August 2011. On the 13th of August an activity was organised in Barcelona, toge-ther with our Catalan member organisation CCCCCE. FIMCAP president Marvic and FIMCAP Secretary General Evy gave a presentation on idea behind FIMCAP and its history.

Did you know for example that…Í …in 1969 the first Eu-roForum was organised in Germany, as a meeting for youth leaders? Since then it

has been organised almost every year.

Í …in 1976 the first African meeting was organised in Ghana?

Í …in 1979 the first EuroCamp was organised in the Netherlands? 524 children between 11 and 13 years old came together for 7 days to play together and to celebrate the international year of the child.

Í …in 1992 the first World Camp was organised in Ghana and Chili?

Like on every birthday party, there was a nice big birthday cake and little cakes for everybody. We symbolically blew out the 50th anniversary candles with representatives of each member organi-sation present.

During the activity the travelling book was handed officially to CCCCCE, the first organisation on the list. The idea of the Travelling Book is to have 1 big book that travels through all FIMCAP member organizations. All member organizations can write in the book and add pictures and drawings. You can fol-low the Travelling Book on the FIMCAP website.

On the 14th of August we celebrated the 50th anniversary of FIMCAP in the town of Castellserà. We had an opening mass with the whole community and in the evening an intercultural FIMCAP evening organised by Alvi, the former

50 years of FIMCAP

1962 - 2012

50

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FIMCAP chaplain.

During the evening FIMCAP president Marvic held a speech on the anniver-sary of FIMCAP. You can read her speech here.

On Saturday 13.08.2011 representatives from FIMCAP organisa-

tions had the pleasure to kick off the 50th anniversary activities

during a FIMCAP activity held in Barcelona during the diocese

period of the World Youth Day (Madrid 2011). Besides this activity

being an opportunity for FIMCAP members to celebrate together,

celebration activities for the rest of the year were also communi-

cated – all this in preparation to make the coming year… a special

year!

On such an occasion one might ask… what is so special about this 50th year

FIMCAP birthday?…why do we want it to be a special event?…for 2 main rea-

sons:

1. History of youth work is evidence that the church was always a pioneer in

addressing the needs of this age group. Since the time when the word youth

came into existence…we soon started to see the birth of organisations

supported by the church…with the aim educate and assist young people

through their growth in physical needs, social needs and also spiritual. This

fact leads us FIMCAP member organisations to STOP and THINK…

– What and which youth needs are our groups within the church address-

ing today?

2. Second point… FIMCAP was born out of the initiative of the first founder

organisations to live a sense of solidarity and fraternity through all their

activities. Therefore we can say that FIMCAP is LOVE in ACTION…not to say

that in actual fact FIMCAP is God’s LOVE in ACTION – if we believe that we

are instruments through which He is reaching children and young people

today. This leads us FIMCAP members to STOP and THINK…

– Are our activities an opportunity to show our love to each other and the

children and young people entrusted to us?

– Do the children and young people with whom we work have the opportu-

nity to experience fraternal love and above all God’s love towards us all?

We are invited to use these points to evaluate and react in accordance to our

answers to these questions - and the contexts that we are all living in our dif-

ferent realities. May the outcomes of such and evaluation be an inspiration

for youth work within the Universal Church. May such a reflection during the

events leading to the 50th year anniversary be another strong foundation

stone for the years to come.

Happy 50th Birthday FIMCAP!

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AnniversAry Activities

Would you like to celebrate together with us the 50th anniversary of FIMCAP? Then note the following activities:

Í TravElling BookThe Travelling Book will be travelling around the whole world in 2011 and 2012. The aim is that each FIMCAP organisation receives the book and writes something in it. Check with the FIMCAP secretariat if you want to know when the visit of the Book to your organisation is planned!

Í March 2012: looking Back, looking forwarDIn the weekend of Palm Sunday (30 March – 1 April 2012) we would like to bring together all former volunteers and presidia for a big reunion in Rome, the city were FIMCAP was proclaimed 50 years ago.More practical information will follow, but keep this weekend free!

Í april 2012: chaplainS MEETingFrom Tuesday 17 until Friday 20 April, the chaplains of our member organizations are invited for a Chaplains meeting in Rome, to talk about their role in supporting faith based youth work.

Í July 2012: worlD caMpWorld Camp will mark the end of the anniversary year. We hope to celebrate this with participants from each member organization! More information on World Camp can be found in this LINK edition.

Evy Hoeben, FIMCAP General Secretary

Wanted!for a publication about the his-

tory of FIMCAP

• Stories• Pictures

Please send them to the FIM-CAP secretariat as soon as pos-

sible! Thanks for your support!

FIMCAP Secretariat, Kipdorp 30, B-2000 Antwerpen, Bel-gium; info@fimcap.org

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WOrlD CAMP OF SOlIDArITy CAMPAMenTO MunDIAl De SOlIDArIDADThEME:Con amistad y esperanza la solidaridad se alcanzaBuilding solidarity through friendship and hope

prograMME:14 – 19 July: introduction with the whole group in Villa Hayes20 – 28 July: projects and staying with host families29 July – 2 August: Evaluation and clos-ing with the whole group in Villa Hayes

proJEcTS:

Limpio:

5 Build a playground for a school

5 Hospital de Indígenas: organize activi-

ties for families that have sick relatives

in the hospital

Remansito

5 Build a community centre

Paso Yobai

5 Build a playground for the community

5 Visit the gold mine

criTEria for parTicipaTion:

3 participants per organization (60 parti-

cipants in total)

Age: between 20 – 30

Experience and training in youth work,

and preferably active on the regional

level

Knowledge of English, willingness to

speak other languages

Be open-minded and optimistic

To accept the camp rules

To be prepared to pass on your expe-

rience after the camp

Participation in preparatory meetings

2012 is the candidate’s first World Camp

TravEl coSTS:

European countries: there will be no

reimbursement for travel costs

Non-European countries: ask FIMCAP

secretariat for details

parTicipaTion fEE:200 € for every person

MorE inforMaTion:Contact your organisation or the FIM-CAP secretariat: info@fimcap.org

We hope to welcome you at the World Camp in Paraguay! Let’s celebrate FIM-CAP’s 50th anniversary!

Dear volunteers,My name is Reinaldo Duarte López. I am a Paraguayan single 30-year-old lawyer,

and I live in Paso Yobai. For 12 years I have been at the service of the Catholic Church as a volunteer through NIPPAC. I want to contribute to the service under God’s mandate with the help of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary. We live in a world that lacks love and values; in a world full of crime and insecurity.

I dream about a world full of volunteers to fight this world of conformism, materia-lism under a dangerous globalization.

We need to take the hands of our friend Jesus. We have to let him be our teacher and guide in order to make change a reality. We also have to be committed,

World Camp 2012

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strengthen our Faith and believe in change. I think it is important that in our daily work of educating children and youth, we need to show them the love and care for the others so that they see an example in us. Remember that every effort and sacrifice has its reward «Ambue mba ´e ikatu ñañeha ´aramo» (eve-rything is possible if we make the effort).

We hope to see you all next year in Paso Yobai at the World Camp.

Reinaldo Duarte López, Paso Yabai, Paraguay

Intercontinental

FIMCAP IS PArT OF ICMyO

icMyo stands for international coordina-

tion Meeting of youth organizations. it is

not an organization in itself, but a mee-

ting of international youth organizations

and regional youth platforms. The main

objective of icMyo is to strengthen the

cooperation of youth organizations at the

regional and global levels and to speak

with a stronger voice on topics related to

youth and youth work.

Organizations involved in ICMYO meet at

least once a year. In between these annual

meetings, the organizations participating in

the ICMYO share information on campaigns,

common topics and relevant opportunities

through e-mail.

All in all it’s the same principle as in FIMCAP,

where we come together and keep in touch

to become stronger organizations for the

young people we represent.

The Intercontinental Bureau of FIMCAP,

which brings together the representatives of

FIMCAP Africa, FIMCAP Asia, FIMCAP Europe

and FIMCAP Latin America, discussed the

idea of ICMYO thoroughly. It was decided

that FIMCAP joining this network would

be very positive, so an official application

letter was written. After a positive recom-

mendation FIMCAP was invited to attend

the annual ICMYO meeting, to present our

candidacy.

This meeting was held in New York on 23,

24 and 27 of July. The meeting was in New

York because the United Nations High Level

Meeting on Youth was held in New York on

25 and 26 of July; the ICMYO delegation

participated there. The New York meeting

was funded by the permanent mission of Sri

Lanka to the UN. Since the ICMYO is not a

formal organization but a network, it has no

funds of its own.

The ICMYO meeting started on 23 July and

the first point on the agenda was FIMCAP’s

application. As secretary general I made a

presentation on the mission of FIMCAP, our

values and priority areas, our structure and

our motivation to join ICMYO. After delibe-

ration behind closed doors I was welcomed

back with applause: FIMCAP was accepted

as partner of ICMYO. There had been no

objections and all organizations in favour.

FIMCAP is the 28th organization that has

joined ICMYO.

Becoming part of ICMYO will not bring extra

money to FIMCAP. So what does it really

mean for FIMCAP? Becoming part of ICMYO

will lead to more structured and closer con-

tacts with other youth organizations. ICMYO

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means a network were common priorities

and common problems can be discussed. At

the meeting mentioned above, for example,

we discussed the visa problems many of

our organisations are confronted with and

how we can cooperate to draw the policy

makers’ attention to this problem. Becoming

part of ICMYO also means sharing ideas

and methods on specific themes like the

Millennium Development Goals and climate

change, topics that affect young people all

over the world. It means joining our voices

to have our young people being heard in

even the highest towers.

More information on ICMYO: http://icmyo.

wordpress.com/

Evy Hoeben, FIMCAP Secretary General

WOrlD, yOuTH & DAy

We hear these three words continuously during our life. Separately they mean different things, however when put together they have a very spe-cial meaning: the unique and unforgettable experience for all those who attended the WORLD YOUTH DAY.

The ŻAK contingency joined a larger group

of young people from the Azione Cattolica

di Milano. Together we travelled to various

cities such as Nimes, Avignon and Barce-

lona, before attending the World Youth Day

activities in Madrid.

Long hours on a coach, sleeping on the

floor, freezing cold showers and walking

long distances carrying your own things

are all difficult aspects of WYD. However,

waving a flag amongst thousands of other

young people gives great joy. It even shows

that, even though Malta is a small country,

we were still represented.

The WYD cannot be explained in words

but it must be experienced in order to be

understood. We were a great group of ŻAK

members from different parishes and dif-

ferent walks of life. Yet, we still managed to

connect with each other. We experienced

several positive moments, and as expected,

we also experienced sadness and frustra-

tion. Yet still, the Madrid WYD will remain an

important experience I will not easily forget.

Shaun Camilleri – ŻAK Żurrieq, Malta

World Youth Day 2011 was truly an unfor-

gettable and life-changing experience. It

all started when a group of 17 people from

several ŻAK groups left towards Milan to be-

gin their pilgrimage. Once in Milan, we met

a group from the Italian Catholic Action and

we started our trip towards Madrid together.

The Italians turned out to be true friends

and we really liked being with them. Before

Madrid we stopped in Barcelona for the days

in the diocese. There we had the opportu-

nity to meet various other young people co-

ming from all over the world. We celebrated

mass and other religious activities together.

It is such a nice feeling getting to know all

these different people and realising that you

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are not alone in your faith. This also makes

my faith stronger. You become more aware

of the love of Christ in your life.

In Barcelona, we also attended a FIMCAP

activity. This activity kicked off the celebra-

tions for FIMCAP’s 50th anniversary. It was

a great meeting where I met people from

all over Europe and also India. Even though

India is so far and different to what we are

used to, we still enjoyed our time dancing,

singing and talking.

After Barcelona, our trip continued towards

Madrid, where we had the opportunity to

attend the opening mass presided by the

Pope, the Via Crucis, the vigil and the final

mass on Sunday also presided by the Pope.

People from different walks of life came

together to celebrate this festival of faith. I

feel lucky to have been part of all this.

The last thing I want to share with you is

something someone said during the cate-

chesis in Madrid, «If you are looking for God,

don’t look up, but look around!»

Chris Bonnici – ŻAK B’Buġa, Malta

17 Maltese ŻAK members had been eagerly

waiting for 10 August to start their journey

from Malta to Rome, Milan, Nimes, Avignon,

Barcelona, with the final destination Madrid

(the climax of the two weeks we were going

to spend together). Luckily I was one of the

members who had the opportunity to be

part of this amazing group and have a won-

derful experience. During these two weeks

I was astounded by youth from all over the

world who were there for one aim – to be

‘rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm

in the faith’ (Colossians 2:7) which was the

theme of this year’s WYD. You could feel the

energy in every youth and experience the

love for and faith in the Lord. During these

two weeks, we accompanied the youths

from the Azione Cattolica of Milan – a group

of young people full of energy.

In Barcelona we had the chance to meet

the other organisations who are part of the

FIMCAP family and were also preparing

themselves for the awaiting week in Madrid.

There were organisations from Slovakia,

India, Germany, Spain and, last but not least,

Malta, and we celebrated FIMCAP’s 50th

anniversary together. In Barcelona, apart

from site-seeing, we prepared ourselves for

the week in Madrid by praying and atten-

ding mass together with the other Italians

from Milan. We also had the opportunity to

celebrate mass in the Sagrada Familia – a

breathtaking Roman Catholic Church in

Catalunya.

The week in Madrid was a memorable one.

You could feel the unique atmosphere of

different languages, flags and songs from

every single part of the world. Only such an

activity brings all these different cultures

together! During this week, the youth met

on different occasions, such as the opening

mass and the Via Crucis. Last but not least,

the most awaited two days were 20 and 21

August. All the youths gathered at the Cu-

atro Vientos airport in Madrid, awaiting the

arrival of the Pope to take part in the cele-

bration. I will definitely remember the night

we spent there because it started raining. It

was worth getting wet as the atmosphere

on Sunday during the mass was astounding.

The most amazing moment was when the

Pope said where the next World Youth Day

was going to be: in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in

2013.

I will definitely recommend this experience

to other youth from all over the world: the

love, belonging and unique atmosphere

you feel during a World Youth Day are worth

experiencing.

Lara Galea - ŻAK Żurrieq, Malta

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exChAnGes on ClIMAte ChAnGeOn 11 March 2011, an extraordinary meeting took place in the Training Centre of Xaveri Ruanda in Kigali. The national council, the cha-plains, diocesan heads of the Xaveri Movement in Ruanda gathered.

LINK

During a meeting in mid-March, we had the opportunity to discuss

climate change. Here what we discussed:

Topic: Fire: energy consumpTion and polluTion

First of all, we listed all different types of energy we use, and then

those we lose. Finally, we adopted some resolutions.

The energy we use

Renewable resources: We noted that the renewable resources used

are often hydropower. The others, such as biomass and solar energy

are not widespread. They are very expensive. The sun rays could

meet almost all human needs, since we are close to the equator and

in a very sunny region.

Non-renewable resources: We use fossil fuels such as carbon and

petroleum. At Lake Kivu works have started to exploit methane.

The majority of our people use wood as fuel for cookers and ovens,

which causes deforestation. In short, we noted that we depend on

petroleum and wood.

The energy we lose

We are sensitised to a more efficient use of energy which means

reducing the quantity and decreasing the energy consumption, for

example by changing our habits.

As conclusion, everyone became aware of the danger of using

non-renewable energy. Following the exchange, the participants

adopted following resolutions:

• Replaceoldbulbswiththosethataremoreenergy-efficient.

• WewillstartasolarpanelprojectfortheTrainingCentreofthe

Xaveri Movement in Kigali.

• Fortheprotectionoftheenvironmentandthestruggleagainst

climate change, we agreed to draw up a project that shall trans-

form the Xaveri’s home kitchen, installing a kitchen system.

• Wewillmultiplytheexchangesonthecausesofclimatechange

and the necessary measures that should be taken.

Mathias Nsengiyumva, Xaveri Ruanda

FIMCAP euroPe Green DAy20 November 2011, what a special day for all of us! As you all know

thatisthedaywhenFIMCAPcelebrates«FIMCAPDay–GreenDay».

FIMCAPEuropeisofferingauniqueopportunitytocelebratethis

happymoment.SocheckoutfacebookfortheFIMCAPEurope

GreenDay2011(http://www.facebook.com/pages/FIMCAP-Europe-

Green-Day-2011/257542984272820?sk=info)andfindoutabout

two wonderful proposals.

First of all, we all need to keep in mind that 20 November is the

UniversalChildren’sDay,sofourgamesyourlocalgroupscanplayto

join in the celebrations are waiting for you there! Very impor-

tant: remember to take pictures of the activities and

uploadthemontheFIMCAPEuropeGreenDay

2011 page… a surprise is waiting for us all!

Secondly,FIMCAPdecidedduringthelast

GeneralAssemblytofocusmanyofits

efforts on the environment. So to act con-

cretelyandmakeFIMCAPdayarealgreen

day,wewillsupportthe«34Ucampaign»

launched by the Maltese Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs

(http://www.mrra.gov.mt/page.aspx?id=171)

Here’sthemasterplan:Forevery100fansofFIMCAPEuropeGreen

Day2011page,wewillplantatree(anduptoamaximumof5)in

Malta to support the campaign!

SoifyouwanttocelebrateFIMCAPDay–GreenDay2011withus,

check facebook for all the details!

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GAMes FIMCAP euroPe Green DAy 2011

GAME 1: The story of the old object

what you need

Justsomeoldobjectschildrencanfindduringthewalk.

Task

To trigger imagination and think of the story for this article.

helping questions

• Whoboughtthisobject?

• Itwaspresentforsomebody?

• Forwhatisit?

• Whytheythrowitaway?

• Whytheyfinditonthisplace?

end

Findoutforwhatorwhotheobjectcouldbebeneficial,or

who might be happy if they owned it. They can also choose

what kind of rubbish it is and if it can be recycled or not.

GAME 2: Sporty pizzamaterial2papercirclesasa«pizzacake»Ingredients=differentraces(forexamplewithoneleg,backwards,jumping,…)Paperswithactivitieswrittenwithdifferentcolours(everyteamhasadifferentcolour)2gluesticks/bottles

game1. Playersgointotwoteams2. Everyteamchoosesonecook(agoodtaskforachildwhocannotordoesnotwantrun)3. Theothersareassistants4. Thecookisononesideoftheroom,theassistantsontheother.Ifyou play this game outdoors the two groups should stand at least 10metresapart.Thecookhasa«paperpizzacake»whereassistantswill stick papers with their completed tasks.5. Theassistantsrunwiththesesmallpaperswithtasksandcompletethem.Asecondplayercanonlyrunwhenthefirstplayerisbackandwasrelievedbythefirst.

6. You can play in two different ways:a. The winner is the team who completed all tasks and have all ingredientsonthepizzafirst.b. The teams collect points for ingredients. There are all ingredients mixed in the bowl and leader shouts which ingredient and how muchofittheyhavetoputonthepizza;theteamneedstofindapaperwiththisingredientandputitonthepizza.Theteamwhoselastassistantreturnsfirstwinsthepoint.

Numberofingredients=tasksisuptoleader,accordingtophysicalcondition of children, and other aspects.

GAME 3: Pantyhose Game group size:8-24membersage: No restrictionsresources:2or3pairsofoldpantyhose(attachedpicture)(whicharenotneeded)

• Dividethegroupintotwoteams.• Eachgroupwillcompeteagainsteachother.• Thefirstmemberfromeachgrouphastowearonelegofthepanty-hose on their head.• Thentheyhavetoruntoanothersideoftheareainordertopickupan item and come back to the next person in the group.• Thenext2peoplehavetopullthepantyhoseovertheirheadandrun again.• Ifthemember’stightsarepulledofftheirheadbyhis/hercompeti-tor,s/hehaslost.• S/hehastoreturnbacktoweres/hestarted.• Ifs/hehastheiteminhis/herhandtheyneedtobereturnedtotheiroriginal area.• Attheend,thegroupwhomanagedtocollectthemostitemswins.

GAME 4: Freeze – Unfreeze

group size: 8–18

age: No restrictions

resources: 1 tennis ball

rules

• Thepersonwhoholdstheballcannotwalk/runwiththe

ball, all other people are free to run around.

• Thepersonwiththeballhastotrytohitanotherpersonin

ordertofreezethem.

• Theballmustnottouchthegroundoranythingelsebe-

fore it hits a member.

• Ifyouarestruckbytheball,youarefrozenandtherefore

youhavetokneel/sitdown.Inordertounfreezeyourself,

youmustmanagetocatchtheball(fromthesittingposi-

tion)andhitsomeonewhoisunfrozen.

• Ifyouthrowtheballandsomeoneelsecatchesityouare

alsofrozen.

• Thelastpersonstandingisthewinner.

LINK13

november 2011

Ever since I was a little girl, I had always

dreamt of travelling to Spain together with

my friends. On the other hand I had never

thought about participating in the World

Youth Day. A year ago I heard about the

World Youth Day. I never knew what it was

really about and after some research I con-

vinced myself that it would be a worthwhile

experience to participate in it, and indeed it

was. Despite the fact that it was in Madrid, it

was a beautiful experience that helped me

grow and strengthen my faith.

It all started on the 10 August. Our first des-

tination was Rome, than we flew to Milan.

There we met a group of Italians from the

Azione Cattolica of Milan. Together we tra-

velled to Spain. Before we arrived in Madrid

we spent a few days in Barcelona where we

prepared for the World Youth Day. Barcelona

is a beautiful city, with interesting places

to visit. Barcelona was soon filled with

colourful flags from all over the world and

with joyful youth that attended the opening

mass. The opening mass in Barcelona was

our first experience of the real World Youth

Day and immediately I felt really comforta-

ble in that environment. I personally love

different cultures and languages and the

WYD is the perfect place to be to experience

them all.

When we arrived in Madrid, youth were all

over the city, even in the station and on

the underground you could always hear

different youth cheering for their country,

singing songs in their languages and above

all praising Pope Benedict XVI. We met dif-

ferent youth from all over the world; from

Africa, India, Americans and Europeans. We

talked, danced, sang and took photos with

these youth, and all because we share the

same faith and we all believe in Jesus Christ.

In Madrid all youth praised God, represen-

ted by Pope Benedict XVI, and also repre-

sented by big smiles on the young people’s

faces.

The day of this 15-day experience that I will

never forget was Saturday when we had the

Vigil. It was an adventure from the begin-

ning till the end. First we had a long walk to

arrive at Cuatro Vientos. It was a tiring walk,

in the sun and all along I kept saying how

crazy I was that I had decided to go there. It

was so hot that people were even spraying

water over us from their own houses, and

these were later joined by the Spanish fire

brigade. When we arrived we were stuck at

the very back of the arena, as our area was

already filled. Fortunately, two other Maltese

and I had VIP passes to stay in the front

area of the arena. After a lot of hassle and

arguments with the organizers we managed

to enter the VIP area. It was an amazing ex-

perience, we had the chance to see the Pope

really close and apart from that we got the

real feeling of the World Youth Day. Youth

from all over the world were all devoted to

one thing. The adventure then continued

because that same night we all slept outside

under the stars. Despite of the bad weather

and the rain everything went as planned

and it was a really nice experience.

The experience all ended on 23 August. It

was an experience full of joy and smiles. As

the motto said firm with faith, I believe that

when I saw those millions of youth, indeed

I strengthened my faith. The hard part was

to say goodbye to the friends we made, and

also when we arrived to Malta and had to

leave the Maltese group. We were an ama-

zing group and thanks to this we shared an

amazing experience.

Maria Camilleri – ŻAK B’Buġa, Malta

LINK14

november 2011

«Planted and build up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith» (St. Paul)

That was the motto of the 26th World Youth Days (WYD) which took place in Madrid from 16 – 21 August 2011. 51 members of eRko – the Christian children’s community movement from Slovakia – participated.

Our youth days started in the diocese of La

Seu d’Urgell. As a preparation for the upco-

ming WYD we stayed in the two parishes

Castellsera and Balaguer for five days. We

spent time with other FIMCAP members

from India, Germany, the Philippines, Poland

and Belgium, with activities such as guided

tours, intercultural evenings and other

team-building activities.

Special points of our program were the

Holy Mass in Barcelona where we met

pilgrims from other parishes and where we

also started the celebrations of FIMCAP’s

50th anniversary with a FIMCAP evening in

Castellsera.

On 16 August we continued in Madrid.

We joined more than 3’000 pilgrims from

Slovakia and spent the mornings on Slovak

catechesis, lead by two Slovak bishops. In

the evenings we had individual program-

mes: We participated in different activities

organised in several places in Madrid.

On Saturday 20 August we joined nearly two

million young people who greeted the Holy

Father at Madrid’s Cuatro Vientos. The Holy

Father held a prayer vigil. He had to inter-

rupt his speech due to heavy rain, but he

encouraged young people: «Your strength is

stronger than the rain.» On Sunday morning

the Holy Father held the Closing Mass for

pilgrims and announced the place of the

next WYD (see you in Brazil!).

We are thankful that we could spend an

amazing time in the one world community

of young Catholics and were encouraged by

the Holy Father’s words and presence. We

want to spread everything we experienced

during the WYD as the Holy Father said:

«Growing in friendship with Christ neces-

sarily means recognizing the importance of

joyful participation in the life of your pari-

shes, communities and movements, as well

as the celebration of Sunday Mass, frequent

reception of the sacrament of Reconcilia-

tion, and the cultivation of personal prayer

and meditation on God’s word.»

Lucia Molnárová, eRko Slovakia

LINK15

november 2011LINK15

AfricaXAVerI rWAnDA: CereMOny OF VOWS

The Xaveri movement’s mission is to guide children in their spiritual,

social and economic lives. The activities of the Xaveri Rwanda move-

ment usually alternate between three different types: development,

apostolate and charity.

We have recently witnessed the Ceremony of Vows of the children in

the school group of Our Lady of Lourdes in Byimana (Southern pro-

vince), held on September 4th, 2011. The priest, deacon and priest’s

assistants took the vows in front of the altar.

After celebrating Holy Mass, the students gathered for a party and

dance. The activities of the students include apostolate activities,

such as helping the priests in church or singing in the school’s choir.

As development activites they present shows in dance clubs, and for

charity they help sick and poor children.

Xaveri Movement Rwanda

Asia

Tree PlAnTInG FOr FIMCAP Green PrOjeCT In PubuDuWA SrI lAnkA

we «kithudana pubuduwa» Sri lanka

planned tree planting in various places on

5 June on the «The world Environment

Day». The members of pubuduwa – especi-

ally the youth – took part in green project.

The elders as in little and large groups also

enjoyed on this day planting trees.

how did you involve the members of pu-

buduwa in the green project?

We involved in the Green project with tree

planting and educating the members of the

value of the creation.

how did you communicate with the mem-

bers about the event?

We have appointed leaders for every region,

so we directly communicated with leaders.

how was the reaction of the members?

Thank God,the reaction was great was great.

Most of the people in pubuduwa community

gathered on that day in many places around

the country,and it is not only for that day (5

June), we are continuing it as we have identi-

fied it as essential today’s world to make this

environment pleasant.

why do you think this tree planting action

is important?

This would be a real answer for Global war-

ming.

Tips for other fiMcap members?

First, we must love for creation and protect.

• Weshouldgetclosertothecreation

• Weareapartofthatcreationandshould

always be alert of protecting the creation.

• Wehavearighttoopposedforthepol-

lution of the creation and it is our duty to

take action against the pollution

Second, we must do our best to keep the

environment pleasant at-least by planting a

tree.

Sameera Warnakulasuriya

LINK

november 2011

eurOCAMP 2011 In bArCelOnA – THe POWer OF yOu(TH)This was my second EuroCamp experience.

The first time I was there as a leader when it

was hosted in Malta last year. This year, I was

a leader again for a group of Maltese partici-

pants going to Barcelona. Most of the time, I

was like any other participant because there

is so much fun and energy around you that

you automatically think you are one of the

members and not part of the leaders.

The theme of voluntary work inspires me a

lot and I kept learning about it during this

week at EuroCamp. I got to know much

more the participants coming from ŻAK, but

I also made so many new foreign friends. A

wonderful aspect of the camp is to get to

know different people coming from diffe-

rent cultures. It is such an amazing experien-

ce and I will always cherish the wonderful

memories we share.

Roderick Borg – ŻAK Swatar, Malta

I have been in ŻAK for quite a long time, but

this was my first international experience.

From 4 to 11 August I, together with 8 other

Maltese people from different ZAK centres,

had the opportunity to participate in Euro-

Camp under the title the Power of You(th)

held in Barcelona.

It was an unforgettable experience. Not

only did we make new friends but also new

experiences and learned new things. During

that week there were various workshops on

voluntary work, on how youth can make a

difference and what we can give to every-

one around us. Our days basically consisted

of waking up, having breakfast, and an ener-

giser was followed by a workshop. After that

we had lunch and free time. After our free

time we continued by organising another

energiser and another workshop. After din-

ner there were various night activities and

prayers. Every organisation was responsible

for preparing the energisers and also the

prayers for one day. We did many different

new things during that week. On the second

day we played a city game when we visited

the town Tiana; it consisted of a long tiring

walk in the mountains, going down was

easy and fun, but going up was really hot

and tiring. On Sunday there was night acti-

vity in the mountains; we had to use a map

with different passages and we had to find

different papers with values on them; it was

quite hard to look for these papers in the

dark. Through all the activities we got the

chance to get to know all of the participants

very well since we weren’t a big group. I am

so glad that I had the opportunity to take

part in Eurocamp 2011 because it made me

more conscious of what we youth can give

and what I can give to others. At the end it

was hard to say goodbye to our new friends

and then it was even harder to say goodbye

to the other Maltese participants, because

we were an amazing group. I am thankful

that I could share this experience with them.

Yasmin Busuttil – ŻAK M’Xlokk, Malta

This year eight members of ŻAK flew to

Barcelona to participate in Eurocamp 2011:

Power of (You)th. There were seven coun-

tries that participated in this Eurocamp. The

theme was volunteering, as this year is the

year of the volunteer. However, during our

Europe

LINK17

november 2011

stay we not only learned about volunteering

and what a difference we can make in the

society if we all help, but we also learned

about the Spanish region of Catalonia, the

cultures of different countries, different

organizations, different ways of thinking

and much more. Moreover we made a lot

of friends from different countries, had fun

and most importantly it brought us closer to

each other and to God.

During this Eurocamp we where divided

into groups and every group had an island;

as a group we had to build this island from

scratch, starting with its name right up to

services and everything one needs to run

an island. We built these islands by play-

ing games; every game had a meaning

behind it and when we finished we were

given a prize: either money to buy buildings

or qualities. We also had to come up with

services we could provide on the island and

every group had to present their service to

the other groups. On a particular day there

were representatives from different local

voluntary organizations who explained their

role in the organization and in society. They

explained that it is important to have volun-

tary groups within our society, furthermore

the importance that one does the job of a

volunteer happily and keeps in mind the

right intentions. At the end of this camp we

realized that all the islands depended on

each other, no island can work alone and

that all together we were one society.

Once in Catalonia, site-seeing was a must!

So one afternoon we visited Tiana which

was a small village in the mountains close

to where we were staying. In Tiana we

played a city game where we had to look for

buildings, monuments and find the answers

to all sorts of question. This was quite

interesting as we saw the architecture, food

and traditions of the village. On another

day we visited the famous city of Barcelona

and all the great buildings and monuments,

including la Casa Mila and la Casa Batllo

designed by the famous architect Gaudi.

We also visited the cathedral, Las Ramblas

and la Sagrada Familia. The Spanish leaders

explained the story of each site, which was

very interesting, and after our visit we went

to one of Barcelona’s beaches.

During the evenings we played many

games, including a game based on the tra-

ditions of Catalonia with typical dances and

all sorts of other things. On one particular

evening there was an intercultural evening

where every organisation presented their

country, some prepared a presentation,

others showed us some typical games or

taught us their traditional dances. Each

group presented traditional food and drinks

of their country; everyone went round tas-

ting the different foods and drinks. During

another evening each organisation had to

prepare a game they usually play. It was

interesting to see the different games and

it was also fun to teach all our international

friends typical ŻAK games. Another game

which we found a bit hard was a treasure

hurt in the forest at night with torches, it

was quite scary as we are not used to pitch

black forest in Malta but never the less we

all had fun exploring and seeing things that

we do not usually see in Malta.

Well, the fun never ended and I could keep

on writing and writing. However, all things

come to an end, even the good ones. The

hardest thing we had to do was to say

goodbye! After living together for a whole

week we had become one big family. It was

so sad to say goodbye to all our friends,

not knowing if we will ever see each other

again, but I think I speak for everyone when

I say that this experience was one of the

greatest experiences, not only did we learn

and discover new things, but also found and

bonded new friendships. Eurocamp may

have come to an end; however, it will always

be in our thoughts and hearts for the rest of

our lives. I will be forever thankful for being

given this opportunity and I will always car-

ry the wonderful memories we had together

as a big Eurocamp family in my thoughts as

well as in my heart.

Nicole Marie Grech – ŻAK Ibraġ, Malta

LINK18

november 2011

beTTer TOGeTHer…beCAuSe beInG TOGeTHer IS beTTer FOr uS!after a beautiful week spent on Malta in

the project «new Divide» we – that are a

few erko members – invited our Maltese

friends from the organisation Zak to

come to Slovakia. Despite the not very

good weather and the sun hiding behind

clouds (culture shock for Maltese!) we

proved that if we stuck together we were

able to manage everything. let’s say

«Better Together»!

Our adventure started on 4 July in the

evening after the arrival of our exhausted

Maltese friends. Some of them had travel-

led by plane and train the first time in their

life, and the second culture shock they had

was a seven-hour trip from Vienna airport

to the place of our exchange Lúčka-Potoky

in Slovakia. Although they must have been

tired they were full of enthusiasm and we all

knew we were going to have a week full of

nice experiences, beautiful friendships and

unforgettable moments.

The main topic of our exchange was volun-

tary work and co-operation, all included in

the name «Better Together». The program

was based on games and activities focu-

sed on team-building, development and

voluntary work. We had the opportunity to

discover the necessity of co-operation e.g. in

a game «Eye, ear, hand, leg» where everyone

had the role of one of these parts of the

body. We found out that every single one

had to work together to create one unit –

the human body. The power of mutual help

was visible in common things, e.g. preparing

for an international evening, or mutual sup-

port during more difficult tasks. Apart from

having fun, we experienced some unexpec-

ted situations such as being confronted with

a locked-in friend. We got a salvage mission

because a manager of the place (with the

keys) had left earlier. Finally, everything en-

ded happily and our friend was free again.

We wanted our Maltese friends to see eRko

in action. We took them to a children’s eRko

meeting. The children were happy about

it; they don’t get the opportunity to see

someone from Malta every day! We didn’t

want just to talk about voluntary work; we

wanted to do something, too. We visited

children in a foster home in Prešov. Apart

from sweets from Malta we gave them some

of our free time too. Despite the langu-

age barrier we had nice communication

between the Maltese and the eRko children

by smiling, fun and games. Saying goodbye

was very hard for the children and even for

us.

We discovered the value of the family. We

showed the Maltese the pride of Slovakia

– High Tatras. A lot of them saw mountains

for the first time in their lives and some of

us Slovaks found the diamond of our Slovak

nature.

Some suggestions were made for a next

co-operation project (we hope it will come

true). The more our friendship and mutual

support grew, the better the weather got

and the sun came out from behind the

clouds. Thanks to this exchange we got to

know the mentality of other people and

found out that, even though we are dif-

ferent, we are still people from the same

world.

This project was supported by the pro-

gramme «Youth in Action». If you are young

and feel like having a lot of action and fun,

click on http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/youth/

index_en.php.

Marianna Kvarteková, eRko Slovakia

19LINK

november 2011

FDF nATIOnAl CAMP 2011

…from a belgian point of view

After an 11-hour bus ride (in the wrong

direction), we finally arrived in Sletten. The

FDF camp could begin! We were welcomed

by the Danes and quickly felt at home.

We were surrounded by tents, self-made

buildings of wood and a lot of enthusiastic

people. Very impressive!

The Belgian groups found their Danish twins

and soon everybody found their place. Most

of us stayed in Senior City, among crazy

orange people. The sound of ORANGER was

never far away. It was a whole new expe-

rience to build a camp from scratch. Some

only had to put up their tent, others had to

build a shelter first. Some of us even had to

learn how to cook over a fire, which is not as

easy as it looks.

All day long we saw the small Danish

participants arriving in the craziest ways:

as snakes, on boats, in coloured busses, on

horseback or in coaches, … The camp was

officially opened by the Queen of Denmark

on the first evening by the big campfire

place. You would expect a campfire, but it’s

a leftover from the old times (and the little

camps). It was an amazing feeling to sit, sing

and dance among 12’000 people. They even

took care of the foreigners; they gave us a

mini radio on which we could listen to the

translation of what was happening on stage.

Almost every other day there was a campfire

show.

The whole week long we could choose

between a lot of activities, like kayaking,

tree climbing, jewellery making, becoming

a fire fighter, swimming, going to the water

world (a whole water park built from wood!),

geo catching and more. In the morning the

Danes could choose to play international

games, organised by the Belgian groups.

Of course we played the rough ones! One

day, we played with more than 300 people,

which was a great experience!

Also the fire games at night were something

to remember. In our free time we walked

around the whole campground, which was

huge, and got to know people from other

campgrounds. You could see the competi-

tion going on between the groups to build

the nicest and most impressive camp.

You also could go to the Zambia tent to buy

some coffee, to the shop with candies and

drinks, or the big shop with a lot of FDF and

camping stuff. It’s interesting to see how

even during the rain the Danes just keep on

going, even the smallest ones.

The FDF camp was a nice and great expe-

rience, one to remember. We took home

new ideas, impressions and new friendships.

Very tired, but with great memories we re-

turned to Belgium. Thank you to FDF for in-

viting Chiro. We are already looking forward

to 2016 and the next FDF National Camp!

Liese Vandenheede, Chirojeugd Vlaanderen

LINK20

november 2011

…from a nigerian point of view

As I took a look at the Copenhagen airport,

I suddenly felt a surge of excitement within

me ‘at last’. After the long hours spent on the

plane, I was finnally in Denmark. I waited

patiently, taking a good look around as I

watched hundreds of travelers & tourist at

the airport, with my camp bag strapped on

my back. Beign the only black dudes at the

terminal (myself, Ignatius & Michael), we

got some looks from the people around.

We boarded our train from there and got to

Ry Station after about 6hrs journey by train

from the airport.

We were picked up the following day by

Marianne and by bus we arrived in the camp

in Sletten. There we were joined with other

participants (including youths from India,

Germany & few others). We registered in

the Senior City area and got a kit containing

event materials. Soon afterwards, we were

introduced to our host. Immediatly we hel-

ped with setting up tents. My experience at

the camp was inspiring, it is one event I look

back with nostalgia. The huge team building

excercise gave me an opportunity to be a

better team player as I helped in building

tents with members of the host family.

The cross-culture activities also enabled

me sharing knowledge of my country with

other participants. I was able to relate with

young people from different parts of the

world irrespective of gender, language,

colour, religion or race. There were brain

storming excercise like building a raft and

sailing the lake with it which demanded

a lot of creativity. The camp in all was fun,

thanks a lot!

Moses Ewa, CYO Nigeria

…from a maltese point of view: ten days in Denmark

The first day was really tiring for the group.

The day included continuous travelling

with different kinds of transportation. It

felt rather different travelling in a train,

since there are no trains in Malta, but we all

thought it was really cool. When we arrived

it was different from what we pictured, but

LINK21november 2011

we were willing to find out what the camp

really looked like.

It was raining when we arrived which was

rather disappointing, but it wasn’t enough

to ruin the great atmosphere. The concert

was great even though we didn’t know the

band. Finding out that we were not going to

sleep in the same tent was a bit of a shock at

first, because we hadn’t expected it.

On the second day we were trying really

hard to adapt to the new environment,

different people, different language and

different food. We tried something else, we

went to the children’s’ part of the camp in an

orange caterpillar form. On this day we also

had a chance to see the Queen. The next day

we met the other international participants

through international games. Although the

weather was pretty bad we enjoyed playing

the games, and in the end we managed to

make our egg fly without breaking it, which

at first look pretty impossible with the few

resources we had.

On Saturday our group, together with our

hosts U-net, all went to the sky mountain.

Walking to the top was not that easy, but

getting there and looking at the view was

just priceless. In the evening, we had an

evening service; receiving communion a bit

differently than how we do in a Malta. It was

relaxing and we were all happy to be part

of it. Then on Sunday we had a long walk to

the lake, when we arrived we had the choice

of swimming, doing activities or relaxing.

We joined in some of the activities with

other internationals, such as the Belgians.

We spent some quiet time by the lake and

when it was time to go back to the camp

the leaders gave us a map and encouraged

us to find our own way back. It was pretty

challenging for us all, because we were all

international members so we didn’t have

much of a clue where to go, but thanks to

the map and staying together we got back

to the camp safe and sound.

The following day, the Maltese organised

an hour or two of games for the children

for a certain section of the camp. It was a

success and the children had fun, some

people from our part of the camp came with

us, so that they could help us translating.

We all enjoyed ourselves and it was a great

feeling to see the children having a great

time. On Tuesday we chose an activity that is

called the slackline. This consisted of many

different types of ropes of different lengths

and diameters, it requires balance and con-

centration. It was fun to play because you

need to trust the people holding you up and

then trust yourself to keep your balance. In

the afternoon, we were divided into groups

together with members from U-net, each

having a different leader and a different

group number. We went patrolling toge-

ther; we had different activities to do, each

of them with points. Doing our best and

scoring as many points was the aim of each

team. The games were really cool and chal-

lenging, some required common sense and

intelligence, and others required teamwork

and motivation.

Wednesday was a rather busy day! In the

morning, we decided to do the wet felt

workshop. It was really great to do, creating

flowers with felt; it was also fun because it

was our first time using felt in this way so

some of us ended making a mess out of

it. But in the end the results we good for

beginners like us! In the afternoon we went

on patrols again, it was an adventure race

where we had to find check points with

tasks to do. After taking part in some of the

activities there was, we headed straight to

the vertical obstacle race. This was another

activity we chose to do. It was amazing,

pretty challenging but once you do it you

feel really proud of yourself. We had to climb

up ladders and walk on a bridge and ba-

lance on a plank, then when you get at the

top we had to jump, which was pretty crazy

but the whole thing was great! On Thursday

it was raining, it wouldn’t stop. Everywhere

was filled with mud and we had to take the

tents down so we could all sleep in the two

big ones. We were supposed to do another

session of games but it was impossible to

accomplish with all the rain. The last day,

we had to get up really early so we could be

at the station on time. It was another tiring

day, we got to say goodbye to the people

who were living with us for those ten days.

It was a great experience for all of us. We

learned new things, new games, new words

and we learned being more responsible. We

were very lucky to be chosen for this camp

because it was a chance for us to all grow

from this experience. Being separated from

one another was tough at first, but it was a

good reason for us to live this experience

from different perspectives. Camping is not

easy, going there without your family is dif-

ficult too, but we made our own family and

the Danish hosts were really great people.

Most of them had good English and it was

nice to share our traditions, language and

cultures with them. Getting to know a bit

more about their country was great. When

we arrived back home we were different

people, this experience has changed us in a

very good way.

Benedicta Laurenti, ŻAK Malta

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november 2011

CHIrO TACkleS POVerTy

Have you ever been to Hasselt? Maybe not, but if you have then you will know it as a pleasant, charming and quiet little city in the heart of the Belgian Limburg region. At least, that’s what it was until Saturday September 10th. That day, about 3.000 Chiro leaders invaded the city for their national Kick-off Day.

If there is a weather god, he or she probably

wears Chiro shorts. Rainy Belgium was defi-

nitely not a top destination this summer for

those looking for sun, but this September

Saturday made up for a lot. The water sup-

ply dried up in no time, and some leaders

started swimming in the city park’s pond,

scaring the ducks to death. Even Lourdes

from sunny Paraguay, one of our welcome

FIMCAP guests, had to admit it was hot.

However, that didn’t stop the leaders from

making a lot of noise.

Noisy might be the word that first comes to

mind when people think about any recent

Chiro Kick-off Day. However, this year’s edi-

tion must have been the loudest. Why, you

might think? Maybe because of the kazoos

all the leaders got, but also thanks to Chiro’s

new year theme: «Poverty is wrong, deal

with it!» Seven year-theme mascots chal-

lenge the leaders and children not to keep

silent about poverty, but to make noise and

spread the message that we ned to stand up

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november 2011

against it.

All Chiro members already heard about

charity organizations doing a great job in

developing countries. All of them have seen

horrible pictures of malnourished children

and people living in slums. You would think

poverty isn’t really a new topic for them, isn’t

it? But only few realize that even in a rich

country like Belgium – with plenty of food,

a school in every town and a hospital in

every city, there is poverty. One child out of

five they meet in the streets lives in poverty.

This year theme aims at showing the reality

of poverty in West European countries like

Belgium, and to do something about it.

We are so much stronger if we stand

together. That is why this year theme is a

joint initiative of the seven most important

Flemish youth organisations. 250’000 kids

shouting to tell their parents, friends, neigh-

bours and politicians it’s time for action.

Ear plugs won’t help. Let’s hope it makes a

difference.

Olorin Vancoillie, Chiro Flanders

1962 - 2012

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