Furaha Camp 2016, organized by World Youth Alliance Africa, was at Eagles Point Camp, at the shore of Lake Elementaita from Saturday 3^rd to  Saturday 10^th of December 2016. Campers were between the ages of 14-19 years. The theme of this year’s camp was Nature, Fun and Solidarity. The meetup point was at the office at Cara house where a brief introduction between the parents of the campers, the campers and WYA Africa staff were held before departing for Elementaita at 12:30 p.m.

The campers and staff had a stop-over at the famous Rift Valley View Point in Karen for lunch. Upon reaching the camp and setting up their tents, the campers were divided into four teams namely, Alpha, Real Barristers, Wale Wasee and Minions for the activities they will be doing for the duration of the camp. To close the day, the campers watched the movie Zootopia.

The camp began each day at 6:30am with morning exercises and a quick jog at the venue. The campers and staff visited Loving Hands Safe House Children’s Home where they played, sang and danced with the children living at the home. This was part of the community service that was incorporated into the camp program.

Each day of the camp was assigned a theme of the day—Culture and Solidarity, Human Dignity, Nature, Freedom, and Solidarity. The activities such as movie nights and discussions of each day were about the assigned theme of the day. Camp counsellors Paul, Juliet, Kevin, and Patricia led the discussions on these themes so that campers could learn more about WYA’s values.

Sports activities taking place during the camp were engaging. Campers cheered, sang, won, and lost. But more importantly, the campers displayed solidarity to make each game and physical activity more fun and enjoyable for everyone.

The cultural talk and the talent night had karaoke for campers to sing their favorite songs. Cynthia, the “Carols Mistress”, brought the camp into a Christmas mood as she led the campers to sing Christmas carols around the campfire.

Our welcoming host Fran was a lady with a big heart. She took care of all the needs during camp and made the stay as comfortable as anticipated. She shared her story of how she started and grew the business of the campsite to date. Being a part time archaeologist, she has a historical museum at the camp and vast knowledge on early man which she shared with campers on Wednesday. There were artefacts and tools used by the early man as well as remains of the early man preserved in the museum.

Campers visited the lake on several occasions for a swim. The lake view point became a place of solace for all to unwind. The campers also went to the famous Keekopey hot springs for a hot bath and swim and enjoyed bird watching, where they were able to spot the famous flamingos, pelicans and other indigenous bird species.

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals – Conservation of Environment, the campers had a tree planting session on the last day and planted 10 tree seedlings. The group then travelled back and safely got to Nairobi at 5:00 pm. The Furaha Camp 2016 was a success.