Friday - Last Day of 4-H Day Camp

On the 4th official day of being in the DR and our second/last day with the campers at the PuntaCana Foundation, the vibes were real. We started the day arriving at the Foundation and quickly began to start preparing for our second day with the campers. The campers then arrived, and we began to break off into our color groups and begin the day. I was in the Rojo grupo (Red group) and along with the Azul grupo (Blue group), and we made our way to a petting zoo and park, the animals got along so well with the campers and counselors smiles were everywhere. The one and only Miguel taught us how to feed the animals and my personal favorite were the goats because they came with energy and enjoyed the pets. 

After that we made our way back to the Foundation and began to rotate into our next activity. We began to help the campers build catapults made from a spoon, rubber bands, and popsicle sticks. After the catapults we began to work on slap bracelets for the campers and they all designed them to their liking. Lastly, we made bracelets and necklaces which the campers loved, and every single person was heavily involved in making either a bracelet or necklace. We then ended our crafts and began to indulge in a wonderful meal of a beautiful hamburger with fries and mac and cheese that can only be described as iconic. 

After everyone was finished eating, we all began to get ready for the beach and the excitement was real. Due to many of the beaches in the country being privately owned the campers don’t have many opportunities to go to a beach, however today we changed that and made sure everyone enjoyed the beauty of the beach to the fullest! With many of the campers enjoying water the counselors then got the idea to get some coconuts, so we began to try and get them to fall down and we began to drink the water inside of them which is insanely delicious. We then passed out cupcakes to the campers as they began to leave the ocean. 

We then made our way back to the Foundation and began to distribute the campers their bags and gifts from us. It was truly a moving experience to connect with these kids while not speaking the same language. The best part of the day in my opinion is when I would interact with campers, and I would start to use the minimal Spanish I know to help out and the campers would give me thumbs up and tell me I was doing good which truly touched my heart. The campers then began to leave, and we signed their frames and said our goodbyes. 

Lastly, thank you to the Grupo PuntaCana Foundation Center for Sustainability for giving us this opportunity to learn about the land and what they are doing to make sure everything and everyone stays healthy. We finished the night with fish tacos and a reflection for the fun to come with the weekend!

Max Jones-LaChance, Alexandria

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The last day of 4-H Day Camp was amazing. We played tons of games with the kids and did lots of crafts, such as making bracelets, necklaces, and even a catapult made from popsicle sticks, rubber bands and a spoon. Another thing we did was get a tour to the petting zoo, where they showed a variety of animals that we could feed and pet. The last and most memorable thing that we did on the last day of Day Camp was take the kids on a walk to the beach, where they got to swim in the water, have fun on the sand, and have a chance to drink coconut water from a coconut. If you want more details on how we got coconuts, ask a teen counselor.

Jacob Roberts, Shenandoah County