Williams Syndrome Association of Ireland

Music/Activity Camp 2003

The third annual Williams Syndrome Music/Activity camp was held in the Share Holiday Village in Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh from Sunday 20^th July to Sunday 27th July 2003. Returning to the Share Centre again this year felt like coming home!! Everything was the same – the same chalets, the same staff, mostly the same campers, teachers and helpers. Chalet 13 was once again our “hub of operations” and we were welcomed as friends by all at Share.

It was great to have so many of the same people back with us again as well as some new teachers and helpers. The generosity of all the teachers and helpers still continues to amaze me! They all give up a week of their time to work voluntarily with our group at our camp. That’s right – VOLUNTARILY. They do not get paid! They get a small gift at the end of the week. That is all!!! We also had a visiting “teacher” this year for one day. Dave traveled from Dublin (at his own expense) on the Thursday morning, stayed with us until Friday lunchtime and then returned to Dublin. He taught guitar and harmonica while he was with us and generally endeared himself to our group. His contribution to the camp was immense. We hope he will return in future years.

The structure of the week was similar to previous years. We had our scheduled music classes and group musical theatre in the mornings with the Share Centre activities in the afternoons. This year we varied the afternoon activities a little bit taking in a shopping trip to Enniskillen and a trip to the Marble Arch Caves on alternate afternoons. There was also an afternoon of Circus Skills at the Share Centre that everyone enjoyed. Our evenings/nights became the usual musical singsongs. The day was never complete without a session of music, song, comedy and drama! Small and large steps were taken by many of our campers at these informal get-togethers. This is where the most significant progress in social development in our campers from year to year can be witnessed, enjoyed and encouraged. Despite all the enjoyment, a lot of hard work was done during the week and this culminated in a very impressive performance of a new musical called “Goddess” on the Saturday night. Nobody had every heard any of the songs in this musical before (apart from our musical director!). This made the performance, after only five rehearsals, all the more remarkable.  A lot of time and effort was also spent in designing and making props for the show. This encourages those campers whose artistic ability is not in the musical area.

One of the biggest thrills for everyone at this year’s camp was the fact that one of our campers arrived at camp with two of his own musical compositions on tape. Within two days, lyrics had been composed to go with the music and we now have our very own WSAI Camp anthem – Serenade: A Williams Syndrome Anthem. It was sung and played many times during the week at camp. We hope to record these compositions at some time in the future to ensure that they are preserved for posterity.

The camp was again an international event with campers from The Netherlands and from Italy. We hope that many more international campers will join us in future years. The interaction of people of different nationalities adds a unique aspect to the camp. People with Williams Syndrome are very tuned in to different sounds and therefore enjoy the different accents in use on a daily basis. We have also learned that music crosses all boundaries and thereby encourages interaction.

I still find it very difficult to describe what this camp does for its participants. It provides an annual holiday for some (and respite for their families!), a unique musical experience for others, an opportunity for all to meet new friends (and old!), build new relationships, it allows people to grow and develop socially. I believe it is as much a learning experience for the teachers and helpers as it is for the campers. In some ways it is a more important learning experience for them than it is for the WS people and their families.

This year we provided the opportunity for our WS family members to visit with us during the week of camp. Two families took advantage of this opportunity and both families have expressed their amazement at what is achieved during the week. They felt that the whole experience is something all WS families should experience for themselves.

It is hard to believe that we have our third camp behind us. We have received a lot of financial support to help us fund the camp for the past three years. We received our main funding from the Irish National Lottery and we are extremely grateful to them for their support. We would like to publicly acknowledge that support. However, we will now need to raise funds in order to continue to run the camp in future years. If you can help in any way please contact us at the WSAI.

The secure and safe environment provided by the Share Holiday Village is very important to the success of our camp. It is an absolutely wonderful location, the centre is very well run and offers a unique selection of both water and land based activities to its guests. Our knowledge of the layout of the centre and its staff are now major factors in the success of our week there.

This year’s camp was once again amazing! Next year’s camp is already in the planning stage! We hope to see many more of you there next time, if only for a visit!

Ann Breen - Camp Organiser

Last modified: March 28, 2005