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A Day in the Sun for Bethlehem's Children
This day was a wonderful experience for us and the children too. We learned how to take care of and manage a large group of children. It was harder than I thought. But at the end of the day, I was sad because I admit that I had as much fun as a 10-year old child. When I say this, I speak for all the RTI Club members who participated in this event. This day gave these kids an opportunity to empty their extra energy into something both fun and useful. At the end I'd like to say that events like this one are really useful and fun, and I hope that we'll spend such days more often under better circumstances so that we will be able to see a beautiful, innocent smile on every child's face all the time. |
This week is the Holy Week that comes before Easter in which Christians all over the world go to church to pray, and, of course, there is no school. The RTI Club thought to take advantage of this free time to do something for our children, to get them away from the pressure of their lives and to let them have fun before Easter. We decided to have a picnic day in the open air playing and laughing with 100 kids. The idea was wonderful. It really worked, and this is what happened.
At 9:00am, the RTI Club members assembled in the Mary Dotty Park in Bethlehem. I admit that we were tense because we had many things to do before the kids arrived. But we were well prepared. We hid Easter eggs all over the Park so that the children could play the traditional Easter egg hunt. We had also prepared sandwiches for lunch and had a long schedule full of games for the children to last for four hours. At 10:00am, 100 boys and girls arrived by bus from all over Bethlehem. They looked so happy as if it had been a long time since they were so excited. After their arrival we sat together in a big circle, and the RTI Club members explained the reason for them being there. We also explained the meaning of Easter. We wanted to talk more but they seemed so enthused to play so we started with the day's activities. First, we separated them into smaller groups of 20 so that we could control them better, and we let them play "fetch the eggs." After this game was over they seemed so happy and wanted more and more fun. One girl told me that she hoped that this day would never end. Then the leaders took their groups and played games such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Hide and Go Seek, Pull-the-Rope (tug-o-war), and other fun games. At noon, we had lunch all together. It was a big mess but it was fun for all of us since the children had an opportunity to express themselves. After lunch we played a little more but then it was time to leave. I admit that I was sadder than the kids because I became attached to them in such a short period of time. At 1:00pm, we gave each child a gift bag with an Easter egg, and they all returned home.