I Ho Chaun goal success story

In the words of Bob Seger, “Every ounce of energy, you try to give away.”

That best sums up the approach to this past week, where I spent a week away from any form of technology, near the mountains at a kids camp for boys.  7 days of sleepless nights, kids racing around with reckless abandon, potato cannons, guns and ziplines. Phew, nothing draws energy like 40 boys between the age of 8 and 12.

Completing this week was one of the goals for my I Ho Chuan year, and it was difficult and rewarding all in one.  Kids that come from different walks of life, from difficult family situations, to learning disabilities, to boys with nothing more than atomic like energy.

One highlight was an opportunity to lead a nature walk and discuss elements of forest ecology, wildlife, bushcraft and survival.  Keeping a kids attention in the classroom is one thing, keeping 10 kids at a time at attention with every passing butterfly, grasshopper, dirt, rocks, pointy sticks and everything else nature could tempt them with was a challenge. 

One other circumstance this past week saw a child that had a very difficult time relating to any of the other kids. He was really concerning the leaders, as he just seemed to have a really difficult time with things. On one particular day a counsellor observed him out in the field alone and hunched over.  He stood up hunched still, took a few steps back.  Curiosity continued. A few seconds later a small balsa wood glider sored into the sky as the result of a long elastic launcher he had crafted.  The glider soared, and the child jumped and skipped in the field as it soared through the sky and eventually down to the ground.  He launched that glider thirty times or more with the same satisfaction and huge smile on his face every time.

I talked with the boy and soon found he loved things that could fly.  I showed him a couple of paper airplane patterns I knew.  My version did not fly very well, but after showing it to this child he took the pattern and made it into one of the best flying paper airplanes I have ever witnessed.  He folded one just for me.  Later in the week he was told by a counsellor that the week was drawing near and soon he would be able to go home.  In disappointment, he cried.

Better empathy training I could not have asked for.