Rites of Passage Programme - FIRST CAMP!

I feel so honored to be able to share the story of the first camp of the young adult 18-month Rites of Passage programme with you. I think the beginning of this story is to tell you a little more about what this programme actually is.

Rites of Passage ....

Co-facilitator, Gillian Wilton, explains Rites of Passage, "As the words Rites of Passage suggests it is a passage, a border crossing, a bridge, a transition from the past to the future, from old ways of being into new, coming closer to and connecting with more of who you are.  Moving from one place in your life to another, from the outer to the inner self. The emphasis of this process is on the challenge of life transitions, the thresholds we all must cross, giving us the gift of who we are and who we need to be"

At the mouth of the cave

She continues, " Rites of passage is about leaving behind and crossing a threshold in/into adulthood, elderhood, career, relationships, whether enter into one or ending one or any other personal change, upheaval e.g. lose of job or a major issue or celebration. Then lesson that is coming up for you at this point in time. Traditionally in different cultures rites of passage help people to grow into and celebrate themselves as they ceremoniously mark and are witnessed in setting and living into their intention. The Tradition ensures the greater community remains involved in peoples lives. Gives you a context and psychological foundation to ground in and explore becoming you."

So for eighteen months this group of young adults, who are between the ages of 18-25,  have chosen to meet regularly to go through a rites of passage. Each participant made a strong choice to join this group. They will work with different parts of themselves, including their strengths and their challenges, and share their story as they take different steps towards their dreams. This passage that they are taking is also an opportunity for you and other members of our larger community to witness, support and honor their courage and strength, challenges and transformations, happiness and gifts.

Just before playing games from childhood...

How the programme works....

The programme involves four camps that are each five days in length. In between these camps the group will have weekend long meetings, individual sessions and access to some of our partner organizations as well as the opportunity to choose a mentor from the community (from their own communities or people from I Am Somebody!'s networks who choose to become mentors).

Bottom: Going on a hike to where we did a two hour solo

The programme is essentially divided into four sections, each representing one of the directions. We use the directions as a framework and metaphor for the cycles of life. In the South we connect with childhood, with the feeling of safety that childhood metaphorically represents, the qualities that children bring such as playfulness, joy and curiosity. In the West we connect with the challenges of our lives, the lessons of adolescence, the darker places and the gifts that come from these places. This is an important part of finding strength and vision. In the North we connect with adulthood, a time of giving and generosity, a time of vision and big picture thinking. And finally in the East we connect with the elders and the wisdom of a life lived fully.

Of course each direction could mean many things, and our lives may have many cycles of growth at any one point; but using this took enables participants to work with different parts of themselves and honor the lessons that these parts bring.

Some of the group in a picture on the last day

Beautiful sight on our way home from the beach...

About this camp....

It wouldn't be a surprise, then, that this camp was about connecting with the South. We spent a lot of time playing childhood games. But the group took this metaphor to a whole new level! They were constantly in fits of giggles, didn't really even need us to facilitate games because they had so many they wanted to play... and went on countless adventures. One evening we thought that the participants were out star gazing when they came back into the house, cold, out of breath and laughing telling us that they had just seen eland in the dark and been chased by a rabbit...

Childhood isn't always as simple as the metaphor, we all have different memories and experiences when we connect with this time in our lives. The participants spent time doing a two hour solo in the mountains and came back with the stories of their experiences doing the solo and sometimes the stories of their childhood. These stories were shared on the rainy Sunday inside, with a fire, and each story was reflected/told back to the participant so that they could hear it in another way and also be honored and appreciated for their story. We hope that in time you may come to know the stories of these participants and witness the inspiring steps they have taken in their lives. We will have opportunities for community members to become involved, so if you are interested please know that the involvement and witnessing of the community is part of the vision of this programme.
What is next for this group....

The group is getting together at I Am Somebody!'s next event on June 16th, kindly hosted in front of the shark tank at the Aquarium. Along with other artists, one of the participants, Sandile, will be performing poetry at the evening event. We will post a flyer about this event shortly. 

Thank you so much... 

This camp was a big step for I Am Somebody! and it required so much support from the community. It is not only that it would not have been possible without this support, but that it would not have had the same meaning and impact without the love and care that was put into the preparations and into the five days themselves. 

First and foremost, thank you to Gillian Wilton who co-facilitated the camp. I Am Somebody! has yet to have raised the funds to pay her for her time and she has generously begun the work anyway. Her heart and her skill and her love has literally made this possible. We are honored to have her be a key part of making this programme a success and we are deeply grateful for the gift of her time and love. 

Thank you so much to our mother- daughter volunteer team, Carlette and Mona Egypt. They cooked nearly every minute throughout the five days and spent days and days preparing before hand, food that can hardly be described. When we did our final circle before the group got onto a bus to head home, one of the participants said something along the lines of "It was like, we just had this huge breakfast and it was so amazing and then I'm still so full that I'm not even hungry but I smell lunch and suddenly I'm very hungry and then there's already supper..."  Carlette and Mona were so clearly at this camp out of love and respect for young people and their warmth and delicious food nourished the group in more ways than one. Thank you thank you thank you. 

We didn't have essential gear needed for this camp to succeed. Walther Meyer from Venture Forth so generously offered eight sleeping bags and eight backpacks that were in really good condition at no cost. Thank you for keeping us warm at night and enabling us to go on hikes! We recommend a visit to Walther's web site for more information about him and his work: http://www.ventureforth.co.za/

Thank you to Matthew Dowling of Cape Leopard Trust, and to your organisation, for enabling us to cover the transportation costs of the camp (the use of the van and the payment of petrol) through exchange.  Thank you for supporting the camp as a facilitator and for sharing your passion and knowledge of the environment, it was invaluable!

Thank you to De Hoop CapeNature and to Edith Henn who is the Community Conservation Manager of the Overberg, for enabling us to use The Kliphuis venue free of charge as part of our exchange with your organisation. We appreciate your trust in our partnership and look forward to supporting your work in the future. 

Thank you to Novalis Ubuntu Institute for providing a meeting space with the group before the event itself, and for our partnership with you. We are grateful for all the gifts it has already brought our work.

There are many little and big ways that our Board members have been supporting our work. Thank you to Greg Andrews for collecting and coordinating the sleeping bags and backpacks, for loaning some of his own materials and for helping with other preparations. Thank you to all the other board members for the unseen ways you are holding this work and enabling it to succeed.

Isn't  it incredible how much generosity people in our Cape Town community have? It is such an honor to see this programme taking off, Thank you for making this possible.