Camp Noah Serves Lutheran Children in Puerto Rico

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Camp Noah, a week-long day camp for children who were survivors of natural disasters, expanded its services to meet the needs of children affected by flooding earlier this spring in Puerto Rico . The June 24-30 camp was funded in part by the Church World Service, a relief and development agency of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local congregations.
Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, works in partnership with Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota which trains and supports local interfaith and Lutheran partners to provide Camp Noah, said Johanna Olson, assistant for domestic disaster response, ELCA Division for Church in Society, Chicago.
The camp served 43 children in grades kindergarten through six in Puerto Rico. As with Camp Noah programs in the past, activities included worship, crafts and a disaster study done by a meteorologist who "helped children understand how and why this disaster occurred where they live," said Olson.
"This is the first time Camp Noah was done in Spanish and in Puerto Rico," Olson said. There was one counselor for about every seven children. The counselors were all volunteers trained in "the dynamics of what a child is going through. They had to look at the disaster situation the way a child would see these things," said Olson. Also present at the camp was a mental-health worker to help the children cope with the disaster.
"During the camp the children are given the opportunity to tell their stories," Olson said. "The value of telling a story is that it brings healing. By sharing a story, you become more at peace and accept that life has changed and there are new opportunities ahead," she said.
Children are also reminded of "the promise of the rainbow," an understanding that "the abundance of Christ's love is with them always," Olson said. "This is essential in healing. In one of the craft projects, children paint rocks that they can always keep with them. They can put them on their desks at school or in their pockets. This serves as a reminder that God is with them at all times. We want the children to understand that if they trust and believe that God is with them, they will be all right," said Olson.
Over the next two weeks in July, Camp Noah will be offered in other areas of Puerto Rico.
Camp Noah, developed by Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota for Lutheran Disaster Response, was created in 1997 when heavy winter storms produced floods in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. It is named after Noah of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. "Camp Noah is the story of Noah's ark through the eyes of a child," said Olson. In the story, Noah built an ark in which he, his family and living creatures of every kind survived a worldwide flood.
Olson said Camp Noah is a very unique program. "It's the only program of its kind that seeks to address the long-term needs of a child," she said.
"After these disasters, fun for children is forgotten. Camp Noah offers safe and recreational outlets and a chance to remember and reflect on what has happened and how they deal with it," Olson said.
In addition to Puerto Rico, Camp Noah will be offered in Hoisington, Kan., July 30- Aug. 3 and Aug 6-10. It will also be offered in Texas for survivors of Tropical Storm Allison. -- More information on Camp Noah can be found at http://www.elca.org/dcs/disaster/campnoah.html on the Web.

*Michelle Mills is a senior at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News & Information.

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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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