Sweden Summer Camp

hmm...., Sweden’s Strawberry Summer Cake.

Those are the first things I remember about today, yes at 2am with small amounts of sleep, it is hard to think. And yet, checking on the girls to see if they are alright, doing head counts to make sure they are all there (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) and mentoring them seems to have become natural.

Natural. It is has become natural to talk to the girls as an older sister, to become fierce about their welfare and well being, to become protective and also firm. It is a wonderful feeling when you transcend being a mentor, to a friend, an older sister.

I knew that I wanted to provide a service, to make a difference in the lives of our younger generation when I applied to be a mentor in the Sweden camp, yet I didn’t know how much of a difference it would make for me. My perspective has become clearer, my patience strengthened – tested and tried, my willpower and selflessness increased. Giving up sleep, feeling tired and worn out seems to slip away when you see the smiles on the young campers’ faces, their laughter infectious and catching.

Right now the air is filled with silence as the 27 girls are tucked up in bed, in my last round I peeked into every room, counting each bed, checking to see if there is a “visitor”, pausing to hear them breathe evenly. I feel a sinking feeling as I realise this is one of the last nights. What used to be a tiring chore seems to be natural.

Each and every girl has made her parents proud. I see the quieter girls gaining confidence, from being reluctant to talk, to volunteering to be the first ones to have a go at “public speaking” (Venus’ Planet time, when each of the 9 girls have to stand in front of everyone for a minute and talk about a random topic, from clowns, to dogs, curtains to Japan). The older ones, “mentoring” the younger ones, taking them under their wings and showing leadership skills which we enjoy and encourage). The louder ones considering the feelings of the others; consciously including them in activities and working as a team. The quietness almost lures me to sleep.

Sleep is impossible when the girls are awake; the air is buzzing with energy and excitement. The camp has been a useful reminder of the “small things” that we seem to forget as we get older, the situations which we seem to think are trivial, the feelings of others, the way we must communicate to others in order to prevent them from hurting their feelings. Each day really does really seem to feel like a week (the past mentors were not exaggerating), every day is a challenge and different to the other in some many other ways, the routine does not become restrictive, but fun and exciting.

The innocence and curiosity of the girls is inspiring, they will never give up until they know the answers and reasons, something I admire, because as we grow older we tend to accept the status quo, often becoming defeatist and apathetic. To the young girls, nothing is impossible. I pray that this outlook does not change.
But it is not just from the young ones that we learn from, the aunties in the camp have been excellent role models. Their teaching inventive and exciting, their presence: fun. They are ready to play dodge ball, even when they are tired, join us in water tubing (affectionately known as snow tubing by the Venus mentors).
The mentors have all become attached to one another; we are each other’s encouragement and support, giving each other tips and advice, sharing out chores, uniting as a team. The girls have realised that we mentors, are not so scary and not so much older than them, that our experiences are not so different to theirs and that our advice is not so idealistic and impractical.

20 years of age (How old are you bai? – delaying tactic at night, used by many campers)does not seem so far away, though most of the girls have very big ideas and huge plans for every year of their lives, which brings a smile on their mentors faces. Lots of things have brought a smile on my face, my favourite moments are: when my mentees got up early, waking up the others, being told that they actually learnt something from my lessons and told that I was like a “big sister”.

The innocence and sincerity in the young girls are lessons to all of us, their energy and enthusiasm (a near stampede and huge celebrations for Swedish Strawberry Summer Cake), refreshing. I hope that the girls will not lose this positivity and inshAllah grow up to be the best they can, because they all hold the potential.
It’s nearly 2.30am. One more round before the all important wake up call for Fajr Jamaat namaaz.

Signing off, Mentor SZM.

Sweden 2009 - Mentor Diaries - Girls