A Summer Escapade

A story about the boys’ wonderful Summer Camp 2009 in San Isidro, Davao
Oriental

For most of the Filipino youth, summer is always bursting with fun and adventure. This,
however, is an understatement for every youngster who calls himself Bosconian. Annual summer
activities usually vary from classes, tutorials, hobbies, sports enhancement, vacation, campings,
etc., all except for one—i.e., idleness. For Don Bosco, it is absolutely compulsory for a young
person to have a particular occupation during moments that apparently invite idleness. And
summer time is one big chunk of sand in the hour glass that shouldn’t be put to waste. As for the
Salesians, following their founder’s wisdom, they try with all their abilities to plan and execute a
meaningful, formative, and jovial summer camp.

Just very recently, the boys of Davao Boys’ Town, who are also called Bosconians,
wonderfully experienced their own picturesque summer camp, spearheaded by Fr. John Cardinal,
SDB, a bonafide Salesian himself. It started in May 13 and lasted for about a week. May 19 was
both memorable and sad for the boys in that it was a day of heading back to their home sweet
home in Maa, at the same time of coping up with the minor pain of separation from the people,
place, wonderful sights, and the colorful events they’ve encountered in Davao Oriental. The
bottomline: they had a really wonderful summer camp! Why did Fr. John and his fellow
Salesians in Boys’ Town decide to have a summer camp? The answer is very obvious—holistic
formation.

The objectives of the camp were numerous, but succinctly, it is one venue of
transforming these boys into good and upright Christian citizens. And how is this possible? Well,
since camping requires a great deal of time for planning, Fr. John had to tap a selected group of
would-be seniors to sketch the blue-print of the said camping weeks, nay months before. In this
case, boys were being molded into responsible leaders who do not only know how to solicit
respect from their members but to organize several activities that can accommodate learning and
processing. There were seven groups all in all, and were named after Salesian saints. Each team
had about 8 to 10 members, having a fairly distributed age bracket. Alongside the formation of
these seven leaders of the pack, there was also the aspect of training them to budget their own
meals for a week, to prod their members to cooperate in group activities like cooking, group
cheering, and the like, otherwise they won’t get any reward. Finally there was also the aspect of
sustaining religious fervor among the boys. For the Salesians, religious formation is one that
requires utmost attention. The young, since they are considered the hope of the future, need to be
showered constantly with profuse spiritual lessons and exercises. This requires an intensive
intervention, especially on the part of Fr. John and the house parents. Hence, camping was also a
venue of making the boys aware of the benevolence of God who continually bestows his graces
despite the apparently trying moments during the camping.

What seemed to be a dreary and tiring first day, of traveling and pitching tents, was
transformed into a panorama of joyful encounters, although gradually. Base camp was in Urawa
Beach, a decent and modest resort that generously provided lush nature, and sufficient space for
their tents, cooking areas, temporary comfort rooms (or quarries), and for gathering. In order to
motivate the boys in achieving optimal results for every activity, a point-system was established
—merit and de-merit, per team. The former is given when a group fulfills this and that, and the
latter when otherwise. Members had to obey their leaders otherwise they wouldn’t be able to eat
their much-awaited meal. And leaders needed to tap their members or else they won’t earn any
satisfying merit-points. With this, one can picture a healthy competition among the inspired
groups. Their daily routine included a swim at the beach front, which was only about 20 meters
from their camping area; cooking and preps for their modest meals, cheering, and smiles and
frowns of course. Each day they would have a particular bustle. Twice the boys had enjoyable
swimming sprees in a pristine mountain resort in Bitaogan, owned by the Morans; another one
was an exciting trek to Don Bosco Training Center in Mati, where the boys got a short glimpse
of some of the graduating students’ future school. One thing that the boys would never forget: the
beautiful sight-seeing of the verdant mountains of Davao Oriental everytime they had to navigate
the long and winding highways.

The camping also afforded a delightful two-day encounter between our boys and the
young people of House of Joy, which is not too far from the campsite. The House of Joy is a
center for neglected young boys and girls owned by a certain Ma’am Aida, younger sister of a
municipal board member of San Isidro, Davao Oriental, and at the same time owner of the
Urawa Beach resort. There was almost an immediate chemistry between our boys and their
youngsters. With some of the older boys and girls of House of Joy merged into the different
groups, they gamely participated in joint activities like cooking, cheering, presentation of group
items, etc. In one particular day, some boys, aged 10-16, were allowed to stay overnight with our
boys inside the tents, while the girls and the younger kids went back to House of Joy. Those two
days gave the boys and the organizers lots of lessons to extract. Generosity, hospitality, kindness
and mutual concern became instantly popular virtues that reigned throughout their encounters.
The boys themselves realized how important it is to show concerned to their fellow, who also
hunger for affection and love, much more than they do.

The elders, led by Fr. John, are sure to declare that in the hearts of our boys lie the
wonderful memories they brought with them as they headed back to Maa. And surely, not only
did they unforgettably stumble upon mother nature, different persons, and nay more, God, but
also brought with them their own transformed and fired-up selves ready to face another
scholastic year of reckoning. This camping, however, wouldn’t have been possible without the
munificent support of the members of the Davao Boys’ Town Board of Trustees, who in their
own particular ways, have made the boys beam with joy and satisfaction, and radiate an obvious
ray of love for each other.

End
Authored by:
By The Salesian Community of Davao Boys’ Town