On the road
If your children want to be on the move, why not choose one of the many camps and trips being organised this summer? Al-Ahram Weekly weighs up the options for the younger nomad
Who can forget the thrill of the first time they went away from home without their parents? Holidays with a gang of other kids are occasions for discovering not only the world, but also oneself. Often, the camaraderie forged over a few weeks will go on to last a life time.
And while some parents may feel trepidation at the idea of sending their young ones away to camp, the moment they see their children start packing they realise how they are beginning to gain confidence in themselves and learn to be independent. Dealing with others, working in a group, cooperation, even survival without mum and dad -- these are all skills which have to be learned. Summer vacations provide the perfect opportunity to make a start.
For several years now, a number of organisations have been promoting travel programmes aimed at helping children build up their personality and encouraging their love and pride towards their country. Camps are organised in Cairo, Upper Egypt, the Red Sea and Sinai to show kids the beauty of their country, and teach them to depend on themselves and how to react in various situations. Some of these organisations also mount trips outside Egypt to provide exposure to different cultures and ways of life.
Yet others take a more modest approach, by trying to open childrens' eyes to Egyptian culture through tours within Cairo, taking in ancient sites (Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic), museums (historical or cultural) and other places of interest such as the Pharaonic Village or the Opera House, as well as various factories and parks.
Besides private initiatives, the government has also been getting in on the act, through a series of efforts spearheaded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The Egyptian Youth Hostels Association also organises discounted trips for children and youth all over Egypt, as well as abroad.
The Hat-Hoor Centre For Intelligent Education (7482221, 7602242) was established in 1990 and is probably one of the oldest organisations in Egypt providing camps and trips. Director of the centre architect Nevine Tawfik holds several degrees in architecture, city planning and child development from the USA. When she returned home, she decided she wanted to do something useful for the children of her country, and so she co-founded Hat-Hoor with her husband.
Tawfik's aim is that Egyptian children should be proud of their country, should believe in themselves and respect their culture and heritage. "Through our camps and trips, children learn discipline, how to work collectively, how to be good listeners, how to respect the visions of others and their individuality, how to make new friends and cope with each other despite the fact that they are coming from different schools," she said.
The centre employs specific criteria when selecting children to participate in its programmes. "We try to select kids with parents who appreciate this quality of education. These parents do not necessarily have to be rich. We give grants to those who cannot afford the full price of our trips. There are also grants for kids who have achieved distinction in education, sports or ethics," she explained.
Hat-Hoor Centre organises trips within Egypt and abroad for children between six and 15 years old. It has three types of programmes: trips around Cairo; trips outside Cairo to various Egyptian cities; and trips abroad. On the last two, parents may choose to travel with their children.
For this summer, Hat-Hoor has laid on a total of seven programmes at home and abroad throughout June and July. Each programme has a specific topic or theme, and lasts one week, from Sunday through Thursday.
Transportation is available, with pick-up points scheduled in both Nasr City and Dokki.
The week from 22 to 26 June has a cultural theme. Kids will visit different types of museum, art centres and businesses. There will also be time for leisure activities and sports, as well as visits to a number of entertainments.
The programme includes visits to a number of Egyptian factories, such as Cadbury and Hostess, as well as Ceramica Cleopatra. The children will also visit Tarek Nour Communications, where they will discover how advertisements are prepared and shot. They will then tour the company's studios.
A day will be dedicated to a tour of the Embassies of Japan and Greece in Garden City. Kids will learn about the two countries: their geography, population, crafts, traditions, imports and exports, their ancient civilisation and heritage, and the strong relations between them and Egypt.
The October panorama and Snow City in Nasr City follow the day after, and the last day will take them out of town to Alexandria, where they will visit the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Kom Al-Shoqafa catacombs and Pompey's Pillar. The cost of this week-long programme is LE120 excluding entrance fees for the Snow City ski hall. The programme runs daily from 9.30am to 4.30pm.
The week from 29 June to 3 July covers the sciences, geography, environmental awareness, various crafts such as pottery, candle and leather making, and even finds time for cookery, scouting, and etiquette.
The programme will be held at the Mango Camp, a 7-acre plot of land owned by Hat-Hoor's founders in Mansourriyya, south-west of Cairo. The programme runs daily from 9.30am to 4pm. Fees are LE200.
From 6 July to 10 July there will be a camp at Al-Gouna, 22km north of Hurghada. Kids will leave Cairo on Sunday at 7.30am and will return on Thursday at 8pm. The programme is entitled, "Know your country and preserve its environment", and will be based at the Sheraton Miramar Resort.
The aim of the camp is to teach children how to preserve the environment: not only the land and sea, but also the cultures of people who live in remote areas. They will also learn about Egypt's natural and historical treasures. There will be trips to neighbouring natural protectorates such as Giftun, while a visit to downtown Al-Gouna will provide an insight into the workings of a modern resort, its architecture and facilities.
Children will be encouraged to take part in water sports (snorkeling, water skiing and surfing), all under the strictest supervision. They can also play tennis, squash, billiards, Go Karting, and other games and sports. Fees for this camp are LE530 including hotel accommodation on a bed-and-breakfast basis and transportation by air-conditioned bus.
The week from 13 to 17 July is dedicated to Egyptian history. The programme provides a simplified introduction to the Pharaonic, Coptic and Islamic eras, as well as touching on more modern times. Children will visit Memphis, Saqqara and the Pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic museums, the Pharaonic Village, the Hanging Church, Abu Serga church, the mosque of Amr Ibn Al-'As, the Gayer Anderson museum, and the mosques of Mohamed Ali, Al-Rifai and Sultan Hassan. The programme ends on a lighter note, with a visit to the Aqua Park. Fees for the programme are LE150, exclusive of entrance to the Aqua Park.
The theme of Hat-Hoor's last camp of the summer, which will take place from 24 July to 1 August, is "Discover the world". This eight-day camp will be held in Greece, where children will visit the city of Athens and the islands of Rhodes, Aegina, Poros and Hydra. According to Nevine Tawfik, the success of the camps held abroad in previous years in such locations as Syria, the USA, France, Spain, England, Lebanon and Italy, encouraged her to organise another camp in an exotic location this year. According to Tawfik, such trips outside Egypt help kids learn about different nations and develop language capabilities, and other life skills, such as depending on oneself and respect for others. They also provide an opportunity to engage with the latest technological inventions. The most important aim of such trips, however, is to help children get accustomed to co-existing with others, however different their nationalities, languages and traditions may be.
The camp is a mixture of cultural and entertainment programmes. Fees are LE2350 for the flight tickets and 410 Euros for accommodation, domestic transportation and site entrance fees.
The Discover Me Camp is another private initiative, run by the National Institute for Youth and Adult Activities (NIYAA) (7614400 - 3365306). Although the NIYAA launched its activities only last year, it had rapidly proven itself both successful and reliable. The institute was the dream of two people: Hoda Rashad, an English teacher at the German School, and Jady Fakhry, who worked on the Summer Junior Programme of the AmericanUniversity in Cairo for eight years. Together with two other friends and a group of parents, they set about turning their ambition to offer children a richer life into a reality.
The aim of the Discover Me Camp is to build and guide children's characters. Last year, they organised two camps, one in Al-Gouna in the summer, and another in Luxor during the mid-year vacation. The seven-day camp at Al-Gouna, which they called the "Character Construction Camp", took children aged between eight and 16 years old. It was made up of four courses: self-potential exploration (where kids learn to develop their strengths while combating their weaknesses); first- aid; photography; and environmental awareness. The camp also offered an introductory water ballet course, to promote general fitness consciousness.
The five-day Luxor camp was entitled, "Luxor-National Pride", and was designed to boost young people's sense of pride in the wake of recent political events. It was composed of three courses: Pharaonic history, given on-site by a camp- appointed teacher; contemporary history; and peer councelling that focussed on issues such as peer pressure and dealing with stress at home or school.
"Before we go on any trip, we usually organise an orientation day for parents to give them an idea of what we will provide," said programme director Jady Fakhry. "We give them a booklet containing the contents of the course, the name of the hotel, food menus and rules and regulations. Parents also have to sign a document saying that in case their kids breach any rules, we have full right to send them back home."
This year, NIYAA officials have chosen to hold their summer camp at the Al-Rabwa Club & Spa in Sheikh Zayed City near 6th of October City. The Discover Me day camp, sponsored by the Orange Consulting Group, will last for three weeks from 6 to 25 July, and runs Sundays through Thursdays from 8am to 3pm. Buses will collect kids from two meeting points in Heliopolis and Mohandessin.
Campers are divided into three groups according to age: eight to 10; 11 to 13; and 14 to 16. They will be offered a selection of courses according to their age group: scientific games, first aid (including World Health Organisation certification), nutrition, photography, music, arts and crafts, drama, health, sports such as Tae Kwon Do, football and swimming, career counselling and "selecting a soul mate". Camp fees are LE950 plus LE250 for transportation. These costs include the programme materials and food.
Managing director Hoda Rashad explains that the way they work their camps is to have one counsellor for every four kids, in addition to the teaching staff. "Counsellors are young volunteers who come and help us with the kids during the camp," says Rashad. "They are university students, but not just any kind of students. They should set an example for the kids -- for example, because they are sports champions or top students in their university. For us, they are more important than teachers, because they are close to the kids in age and find it easy to mix with them. We interview them and select only the most qualified ones."
Maysoun Shaath (012-2156043) is another enthusiast for the idea of teaching kids about their history and culture through travel. Last year, she organised her first Cairo cultural tours under the name, "Egypt is the mother of the world", targeting kids between seven and 14 years old.
"Cairo is really a fascinating city," says Shaath. "It is a mixture of civilisations: Pharaonic, Coptic, Islamic and modern. Yet the rapid pace of life distracts us from really appreciating or even noticing all the richness and beauty. What is even worse, we forget to introduce our children to these civilisations, even though they have the good luck to be surrounded by them."
This summer's camp will run from mid-June until the first week of July and each particular course will last for five days. It will include visits to the Opera House, the Conservatoire, a number of art galleries, the Wekalet Al-Ghory, the Post Office Museum, the Agricultural Museum, the Pyramids of Zoser and Maidum, the Pharaonic Village, and Fagnoon art school, as well as other attractions.
The children will be collected each day by air-conditioned bus from designated pick-up points close to their homes at 9am and will return at 4pm. Fees are LE200 for one week and LE350 for two, including transportation by bus and a light snack. Parents can accompany their kids for LE35 per trip.
Shaath, who worked in several summer camps abroad during the 1980s, describes her initiative as the "nucleus" of a company that would one day specialise in organising cultural camps for kids. "We are still not a real company," she said, "but we are in the process of becoming a real company."
She added that if she can find a sufficient number of children, she will also organise a five-day summer camp for girls between eight and 14 at Ras Sudr from 13 to 18 July. "This would be my first long summer camp at this location," she confided. "A whole programme is already being prepared, including cultural activities, sports, swimming and cookery, as well as parties and competitions. The last day of the camp will be a Friday, and I think it would be good to invite the parents to spend the whole day with their kids before bringing them home." Camp fees will be LE450, inclusive of accommodation, food and transport.
Private companies have no monopoly over organising summer camps for young people in Egypt. There are a number of NGOs and governmental organisations which are also very active. For example, the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Cairo (5917360-5917694) lays on extensive summer programmes for kids divided into two age groups, five to 16 years and 17 to 25. Besides sports and cultural and entertainment programmes, the YMCA also organises a number of day trips to Ras Sudr, Fayoum, Ismailia, Fayed and Ain Al- Sukhna, as well as longer four-day excursions to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.
They are also hosting a one-week camp in July at Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean, where both kids and their families can enjoy the sandy beaches and swim in the crystal blue water. Accommodation is either in tents or three-star hotels. All these trips are open both to members of the association and to non-members. However, members benefit from special discounted rates.
According to YMCA Deputy Manager Mourad Ramzi, they are also organising a permanent work camp for children at the association's headquarters throughout the three months of summer. This camp will focus on doing up the buildings of the association and cleaning up its surroundings.
The YMCA of Alexandria (03-5081240) is also organising a big camp on a 3400-metre site at Abu Talaat on the Mediterranean Coast from June to September. This camp is open to children and young people aged between 10 and 28. Each group will spend four nights at the camp, where they will be divided into groups each of which will be assigned specific tasks. The work will provide the opportunity to learn leadership skills and self-reliance in a wide range of life situations. A number of cultural and sporting activities will also be available during the camp.
Accommodation fees are LE6 per person per day, excluding food. "We have nothing to do with the food side," explains camp manager Boshra Shehata. "Campers decide on a certain menu, they buy the food and cook it, then they clean up after themselves. Our role as an organisation is limited to supervision. We leave all the duties to the campers. We even let them decide on what programme of activities they want."
However, the camp is not open to all comers. "Participation is limited to the members of Egyptian YMCA branches and to members of youth centres and scouting organisations," Shehata explains. "We do not deal with individuals, but only with organisations and institutions."
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Cairo (5887978) is also organising what promises to be a series of extremely enjoyable weeks at its summer camps in Alexandria, Miami and Asafra on Gamal Abdel-Nasser Street over the period from June to September.
Accommodation is in hut-like tents made of palm leaves, and the area in front of the cabins will be filled with sand so that the children feel as though they are at the beach. According to participants in previous camps, the atmosphere should be something to remember.
Children taking part are divided into two groups according to age: eight to 12, and 12 to 17. The first group is mixed, whereas the older boys and girls will be separated.
According to Leila Attalah of the YWCA, the activities for the two age groups will be different. The younger children will have older leaders who will teach them good manners and useful habits such a show to cooperate with their friends, how to tidy their own room when they wake up and how to help their mum with the house work. "There will also be organised tours to local sites, such as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina," she said.
As for the older groups, the boys will go on overnight safari trips around the Mediterranean coast, while the girls will get training in various kinds of housework activity so they can help their mums when they return home.
"We have strict discipline in our camps," said Attalah. "There are certain rules and regulations which cannot be breached. Mobiles are forbidden, and parents are not allowed to contact their children during the camp. If the parents want to ask for their kids, they can contact the leaders at a specific time." Camp fees are LE250 per person, including food and transportation.
Cairo International Scout Centre (CISC) (2610234 - 2638204), which is affiliated to the International Scouting Organisation, is offering a special summer vacation packed with activities and fun. For an annual centre membership fee of LE20 children and young people between eight and 20 can enjoy sports, cultural and camping facilities.
The summer programme includes training in Karate, Kung Fu, volleyball and handball, cultural and religious seminars, arts and crafts activities, and computer work, as well as scouting activities. "We use the permanent camp of the Al-Azhar University in Nasr City," said Refaat El-Sebaei, Public Relations manager for the centre. "This is the only camping site within Cairo city where both junior and senior scouts can camp in the open air. We have also camps in the Fayoum, Port Said and Alexandria for both boys and girls to train them in endurance and self-reliance and develop their physical, spiritual and mental skills."
In August, the centre will be organising a camp in Tunisia for senior scouts (equivalent to secondary grade), in cooperation with the Arab Scouting Organisation, and there will be another camp in Morocco bringing together delegates from a number of Arab countries.
El-Sebaei highlighted the fact that the girls' camps will be rather different from the boys. "Girls are accommodated in hotels, whereas boys stay in tents," he said, explaining that boys need to get accustomed to a rough life. "They have to learn how to guard their colleagues at night. They also learn how to prepare their food, set up their bed, and hang their wet clothes out using a rope and a stick. In short, they learn how to survive in a range of situations."
Camp fees are reasonable and include accommodation, food and transportation. For sporting activities, participants will have access to the courts of the neighbouring Cairo Stadium and Al-Zohoor Club.
For kids and young people from six to 25 years old, membership of the Egyptian Youth Hostels Association (7940527) is a gateway to a wonderful summer on the beaches in many Egyptian coastal cities at reasonable prices.
Members enjoy many travel privileges: they can take part in the trips organised by the association in Egypt and abroad, they can use youth hostels both in Egypt and all over the world, and they are entitled to a 50 per cent discount on second and third class train tickets.
Membership fees are calculated according to the age of the participants and range from LE5 to LE20.
This summer, 100 trips are being organised for young people between 1 July and the end of September. Among them are 25 trips to Sharm El-Sheikh, and 25 to Hurghada, at a cost of LE51 per person. There will also be 15 trips to Ismailia, 15 to Port Said and 10 to Alexandria, at a cost of about LE30, as well as 10 trips to Marsa Matrouh for LE51 per person. Fees cover accommodation in youth hostels, food and transportation.
Lecturers accompany the young people on these trips to discuss important contemporary issues with them. A small library is available in most youth hostels, for when they tire of swimming and playing. In Alexandria and Port Said, the hostels are also equipped with computers and it is possible to browse the Internet at nominal prices.
An agreement is due to be signed between Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco this summer to allow young people from these three countries to make exchange trips to each others' lands.
A volunteer workcamp will be organised in France this summer in cooperation with the French Youth Hostels Association. The Egyptian Youth Hostels Association will select a number of young people who are high achievers to take part in the camp. Participants will have to pay for their own air tickets and accommodation.
"Know your country" is the name of the programme initiated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to encourage children and young people to get better acquainted with the beauty and rich potential of Egypt.
According to ministry officials, the programme will run from July till September. It aims to promote domestic tourism and youth tourism awareness among young people between nine and 25 years old.
The programme organises camps in Abu Qir in Alexandria for youth from Upper Egypt, as well as camps in Luxor and Aswan for young people from the Delta. For Cairenes, there are one-day trips to coastal cities such as Ismailia, Fayed and Port Said, as well as safaris around Sharm El-Sheikh.
All the camps have extensive cultural programmes. Campers are accompanied by university professors and specialists in political science, economics and culture, who will share their knowledge of these different fields with the students. Sometimes ministers pay a one-day trip to these camps to hold an open forum with the campers.
The programme also includes trips outside Egypt, such as the "Egyptian caravan" road trip to Tunisia via Libya, for which 300 boys and girls will be selected. Other destinations include countries that have signed youth protocols with Egypt, such as Morocco and Germany.
These programmes are not open to individual students; your children will need to be nominated through their schools, universities, or youth centres. For more information, visit the headquarters of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Mit Uqba, 7th floor, and ask for details.
So if your children are suffering from wanderlust as the summer approaches, you have no excuse for keeping them cooped up at home. All you need to do now is choose the option that best suits their interests, and your budget and schedule.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 19 - 25 June 2003 (Issue No. 643)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/643/sc2.htm