As the Marketing Assistant who has only been working remotely for BC Newcomer Camp, I wasn’t able to see our direct impact until participating in our Summer Camps. I was finally able to experience the smiles and laughter of our newcomer refugee participants firsthand. I could truly see how our organization helps impact the lives of these children and how passionate our staff and volunteers are about the work that we do.

Last day of our Summer Camp in Mount Pleasant, Vancouver

Visiting as the photographer

I didn’t expect to interact with the children much as the photographer. But to my surprise, many kids came up to me excited to talk about their day or ask for photos. I was taking headshots of the camp facilitators for our website and before I knew it, I was doing mini photoshoots for our campers.

Meeting the team

This was my first time meeting anyone else from BC Newcomer Camp in person and I was welcomed by the loveliest and kind-hearted team of people. They were all open to sharing their experiences with me, I took the opportunity to ask our instructors and volunteer about what they found most rewarding facilitating the summer camps.

A few of our 2021 Summer Camp facilitators

"I think it's a wonderful organization I think all the facilitators are amazing and come from diverse backgrounds that can sympathize with and understand where the children are coming from, where we can guide the children through their life in Canada, being mentors and friends to them. Seeing the growth of these kids during their time in the camp makes me really proud to see how much they've developed. In the first few weeks we could barely communicate with some of them but now we've all become very comfortable getting along with each other.”
— Wajeeha, Lead Program Facilitator
"My favourite part about being a summer camp facilitator is the kids, because I love the kids. It's a good experience to teaching English. Having fun with the kids learning about their behaviour and how to deal with it"
— Menna, Arabic Facilitator
“I enjoyed learning more from the kids about what they like and don't like, allowing me to gain experience on what helps children focus"
— Raman, Summer Camp Volunteer

BC Newcomer Camp has created a lasting impact on the children we’ve taught. By donating or sharing this post, you can ensure more newcomer refugee children are given the opportunities to develop their skills.

Please consider making an ongoing donation to BC Newcomer Camp. Your money goes towards programs like our Summer Camp which are dedicated to helping newcomer refugee children grow their confidence through learning English and playground games.

With classes in session, we’re currently running our Welcome to Canada After-School Program for newcomer refugee Afghan children facilitated by English and Dari-speaking instructors. Your donations go towards providing newcomer refugee families with access to technology and increasing digital literacy.

About the author

Melissa Ho is a senior Interactive Arts and Technology student at Simon Fraser University with a passion in visual design and photography. Through designing digital media, she aims to create an inclusive and engaging experience to broaden the outreach of BC Newcomer Camp. Melissa can be found writing lists and making lattes when she’s not obsessively picking a typeface.

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