A total of four days at camp with parents, friends, children of all ages and great weather! At Family Camp we met families from Ukraine that has fled a war but now try to find some sort of regular life in Sweden.

Together with leaders from NGO Sensus they meet regularly in the city but were finally able to come to the countryside and to Brevik. Activities were planned by campers from Brevik camp, specifically guests from Becket and Chimney Corners, YMCA camp in the US.

The campers were at the end of a four-week trip and were practicing their leadership and planning skills, so this provided the perfect opportunity. During camp they sang songs at the campfire, grilled sausages, made arts and crafts, played games, giggled uncontrollably whilst rolling down a big hill and much more.

But nothing seemed to be as popular as Potato Olympics! Originally Orange Olympics (but there were not enough oranges), potato Olympics involves finding your favorite potato, naming it, and giving it a whole host attributes that can be useful in a potato Olympics. And then the games begin! Help your potato jump, run and do all kinds of things. Sounds silly, but this was easily the most popular activity of the camp and it created lots of great memories.

All in all, the camp gave a welcome pause to life in the city and provided a good opportunity for kids to be kids, and for grown ups to find some calm and enjoy a moment of summer. Happy campers all around, and a successful collaboration between our organisations!

Written by Adam Westerholm, Operations Coordinator at YMCA Breviks course and camp site