Camp Kulin Manager, Tanya Dupagne, was an inspiring speaker and suited the audience and occasion perfectly. Over 30 ladies attended and heard Tanya share her story and how it has led her to now manage a very popular and well needed camp for eight to twelve year olds in the Wheatbelt town of Kulin after working in many locations around the world including South Africa.
Camp Kulin is about instilling children with important skills such as teamwork, persistence, perseverance, communication, self-esteem, self-confidence, leadership, respect, anger management and trust.
There is a long wait-list for sponsored children to attend as the word has spread far and wide on the success and excellent outcomes of those children affected by trauma/torture situations.
There is not only a wait-list for attendees but also for volunteer counsellors, with Tanya saying they have never really needed to advertise as word of mouth has spread so well and quickly they actually have more offers of volunteers than needed at present! This obviously speaks for itself.
Tanya encapsulated her answer to the question: How can you reach all those in need? With the below Starfish story…you can always make a difference to one person!
Starfish Story:
Once upon a time, there was a wise old man who used to go to the beach to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a young man doing what he thought was dancing. When he got closer, he saw that thee young man was not dancing at all. What he was doing was bending down to the ground, picking up objects and tossing them into the water. The wise old man said “Young man, can I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young man replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The sun is high and the tide is out, if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
The old man replied “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said “It made a difference to that one!”
$350 provides a week at camp for a child, including accommodation, transportation, all meals and 12 hours of activities a day. If you, or someone you know, is interested in sponsoring a child, donating or assisting with corporate sponsorship please contact Camp Kulin via email: campkulin@kulin.wa.gov.au , Facebook: www.facebook.com/campkulin or phone 9880 2000.