Day 5 - Tolerance is the responsibility which saves our rights.

Day 5 is here! The sun is playing on the water of the Lake Suvingis promising another challenging hot day; however, the campers are proving to be resilient to the heat and are actively participating in all the offered activities.

In the morning session, the children were introduced to the concepts of Right and Responsibility. Through discussion they clarified the meaning of the words and considered what rights and responsibilities they have at the Camp. They also talked about the human rights  and responsibilities in general and came up with two posters summing up their ideas. Thy then acted out situations in which people with mental and physical disabilities are involved, which encouraged their awareness of the limits that disabled people have and made them think about their responsibility to help.

 
 

In the afternoon session, the children enjoyed the company of the US Government programme alumna Danguolė Kiznienė. Danguolė shared her experience of studying in the USA and spoke to the children about democracy, equality and tolerance. She also told the kids the story of Martin Luther King.The children were invited to think about what dreams people may have and  what they themselves dream of. The children shared their dreams and opinions about what people have to do in order to reach their dreams. The truth is that just waiting for the dream to come true is not enough, and a person has to put a lot of effort into fulfilling his  or her dream. Martin Luther King was an inspiration to the people of his time, and he also inspired the children today. An impressive and emotional part of the session was when the children delivered their own speeches about their dreams and how they wish they could change the environment and life.

The evening session was dedicated to the themes of bullying and intolerance in schools. The children watched two videos showing that people sometimes treat each other badly and they discussed what would be the proper response in each situation. It is impossible to stay indifferent seeing how children feel after suffering from bullying and what its actual horrible effects can be. 

The evening session continued with the children talking about how different people actually are. Singing the song "Everyone's Different" together inspired the campers to create Tolerance posters and slowly brought the day to an end.

Tomorrow is the last full day at the camp. It's sad to think that the camp is almost finishing, but the campers stay positive and anticipate new activities of the following day. Kids never stop being optimistic :-)