When I arrived at Camp Merrywood in the middle of July 2018, I had no idea what I was getting into. Camp Merrywood is a summer camp for young people with disabilities aged 8-25. All the traditional summer camp activities are offered, such as archery, pottery, sports, music, swimming. I was hired as the Canoe and Kayak Program coordinator, due to experience teaching paddling and my lifeguard certification. I ran programs in canoes or kayaks for 4 hours a day with my colleague, Brent. On top of that, all staff worked to care for campers needs throughout the day.
We had 2 weeks of training related to campers hygiene needs, lifting campers from their wheelchairs, how to feed someone else and how to run programs. That was not true preparation for the 2 months of work we undertook. I learned so much more from the practical day to day experience than from the training. We became
efficient, precise and cheerful when carrying out daily tasks. Brent and I learned to work together to cope with the physical challenges of lifting canoes and kayaks into the water and campers into said boats. We learned the best ways to engage the campers was usually to make sure we were engaged too. There were
crises, of course, and a few flipped canoes but a lot more laughter and splashing than anything else.
I gained
so many practical skills that summer but most importantly, I gained respect for and friendships with so many campers. My perspective on the world is permanently changed.
I learned practical care work skills, how to communicate with a variety of campers, how to work effectively with different sizes of teams and how to adapt programs to every ability.