Sony Camp

Sony camp is something which I have wanted to partake in since year eight. Cliche number one. Most girls who are fortunate enough to embark on this journey have wanted to be part of it for a long time and there is something about watching the video in year eight and then again every other year which screams, this is for me. However, it is a challenge. Possibly one of the challenging experiences a teenager can face. Imagine having a limited amount of training and becoming a full time parent, but not for any child, a child with special needs. It sounds completely stupid, but yet for the girls and boys who did this, it couldn't have felt more right.

Tianna and I, became the carers of a little girl called Ebony. Eb could do most things for herself, so I suppose you could say we had it pretty easy, however she was a chatter box and her constant questions soon became mentally draining. I found myself testing my patience and struggled to keep up the happy facade with this little girl as I didn't want to make her upset. We soon discovered that Ebony's best friend was also on camp and the pair could not be separated. This posed many problems and Ebony's best friend, Erin, was much more impaired and couldn't do all the same things as Ebony. So whenever we were asked if Erin was coming on a ride or on this bus it was heartbreaking to say no, Erin can't. It was difficult to keep reliving the fact that many of these kids can't do the same things us as. Ebony always asked why and of course, we smiled and said oh the wheelchair can't fit on here or Erin is tired, but deep down it cut us like a knife because we knew the truth.

The camp was filled with many incredible and fun moments, with the children participating in T-Shirt painting on the first night. This proved to be an immensely messy activity but was thoroughly enjoyed by the children. Tianna and I again had it easy at bed time, thankfully,Ebony slept like a log. However, even though she did that didn't stop the constant worries which filled our head as we went to bed. As I lay in my bed, I kept thinking - is she going to be okay during the night? What happens if she needs me? But soon enough, I too feel asleep. After six hours it was time to get up again and face a brand new day. Ebony knew that today was pool day and was excited beyond belief. She loved to swim and along with the other children, we set forth to the Albany Creek Leisure Centre. The pool was a big hit and many of the children enjoyed swimming. After the pool and lunch, the whole crew set off to the city to take a river cruise. This was not my favourite activity as my stomach didn't handle the constant bobbing up and down very well and I had to spend the whole time outside on the deck in the fresh air. This was rather disappointing as I couldn't spend time with Ebony, however, when the boat ride was over Eb came and found me and gave me a hug. With all the sun and fresh air, the children and the companions were slowly becoming more and more tired suggesting why not many children participated in the entertainment night with musical instruments. We put Ebony to bed after quite a messy dinner and I wished that I could go to bed as well, but I had to stay awake for debrief, my sleeping bag came with me though, which was very exciting. Tonight was the night that debrief became big, that it turned into a huge crying session. Everyone was finding it hard, nothing about this camp was easy but debrief helped us share our troubles and worries with each other and elaborate on the experiences and memories the day had brought us.

The days were passing so quickly and before I knew it was day three and the crew took a day trip to movie world. This would have to be the highlight of the camp and possibly one of the more challenging days. Loud noises, foreign environment, lots of people - there was so many factors that these children wouldn't enjoy but we wanted them to have the best day possible. It was also extremely challenging because we were in the public eye, something we had not dealt with yet. Back at the camp, we all understood that these children had special needs, that their behaviour could not be controlled but here at movie world, it was an entirely different story. We couldn't tell the children where we were headed up until Sunday morning in case it rained but when the children found out the levels of excitement and joy went through the roof. So we packed our things and set forth on our next endeavour. The tiredness levels were also sitting in, and with a long bus ride is was extremely challenging to not close your eyes. The bus ride was filled with an array of never ending questions from Ebony but after one and a bit hours we finally arrived. It was heartwarming and absolutely beautiful to see the sheer excitement and joy the children exhibited. For me, it was extremely moving when I saw Ebony's first real smile. I will never forget it - it was on a little train ride and I can't believe that we nearly did not go on it. She rode the train up the front with her friend Catrin and the way her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth instantly tried to touch her ears made me feel proud, it made me feel like a mother, like she was my own and I never knew I was capable of loving a stranger I had met just two days ago. Eb continued to smile for the whole train ride and this was definitely the highlight of the camp. It was amazing to hear the comments of the bus driver - he asked Ms Smart if these children will be appointed to a new set of seniors next year - imagine that? He thought that we had been working with these children for a year! It hadn't even been an entire three days but the bonds and trust we had been able to build between ourselves and our buddies was incredible and I didn't think it was possible.

This day was also challenging for me because I felt like a mother, it meant that I had to be controlling, I had to say no, I had to be in charge and what hurt most was when she didn't want me anymore but Tianna. Of course being tired, my feelings were blown out of proportion due to my tiredness levels and I shouldn't have gotten offended but it got me thinking about my own family and how often our parents say no to us and we get angry, it helped me to understand that there must be a reason and I should accept it even though I don't like it.

After dinner it was time for mass, and I taught Ebony how to shush, she did this extraordinarily well and I felt proud, as though I had accomplished something. However, Chris' companions didn't have the same luck with him announcing to everyone his allergies to cats in the middle of the mass. After mass, the children went to bed and as usual we followed our nightly routine of debrief, showers and bed. However, since it was our last night and we were immensely tired, it was challenging to get to bed especially as we were on a laughter high as we discovered Caitlin Garamy was wearing her underwear inside out. Of course, this is absolutely ridiculous and not even that funny, but on this night when our tiredness levels had reached there peak, this piece of information was absolutely hilarious. Eventually when we got to bed, it was time to get up again and along came the last and final day.

We played games in the gym, made a conga line and had our faces painted. A firetruck ever came and the children could sit up the front, hold the house and get plenty of stickers. However, the feature event of this day was the party. Eb had been looking forward to the party since day one - there were clones, lots of food, music and her whole family was coming and of course, the video was going to be shown. There weren't many dry eyes in the house and it was difficult to say goodbye, however, Eb's mum had written me a lovely letter thanking me for what I had done. I didn't actually realise how other thought of my actions as odd. Why would a teenage girl give up her holiday to look after a disabled child? Truthfully, I don't know the answer to this question but I do know that this was meant to be for me, this experience has opened my eyes, this experience has taught me things that I can't express verbally and I sure do know that I gave a family a wonderful gift, the gift of respite for four days.