Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

JUMPING into a pond under a waterfall, collecting garbage while hiking, and making dinner with teammates are activities designed to provide “a true holiday” for children participating in a local summer camp in Dapeng New Area that was co-founded by two Americans, Michael McGillicuddy and Andrew Aker, and a Chinese partner identified as Jessie.

Throughout this scorching summer holiday, the three partners ran three weeklong camps for around 60 children. One kid even joined all three camps, Jessie told Shenzhen Daily on Sunday, the day after their last camp wrapped up.

Jessie is an owner of an inn at the foot of Maluan Mountain in Dapeng. She defines her inn as a family-friendly B&B that also organizes activities and excursions to nearby natural spots.

Both McGillicuddy and Aker hold similar educational philosophies that echo an old Chinese saying, “travel ten thousand miles and read ten thousand books” that encourages kids to go out and embrace nature.

“We started doing our summer camps because we want to share our own childhood experience of happiness and joy with Chinese children,” said McGillicuddy who has 10 years of experience as a summer camper in his home state of Arizona.

As one of the co-founders and a camper, McGillicuddy enjoyed interacting with the children he coached during the summer camps. “It’s amazing to see the transformation in these children from the first day they arrive and the day they leave,” he said.

Aker, another American entrepreneur and educator who has lived in China for 16 years, said that the camps are about more than just playing with the children.

During the camps, the children were able to get away from their studies, pressure from peers, parents and schools and simply embrace nature, learn to be independent, master basic outdoor skills and work with others.

They were assigned tasks that were designed to be finished in groups by using communication and problem-solving skills. For instance, the kids were asked to make their own dinner with food provided. The coaches also taught them how to compost the leftovers from the dinner and asked them to collect garbage while hiking in the mountains to be environmentally friendly.

“The original purpose of the camp was to give children a happy and meaningful summer holiday where they learn how to interact with others, as well as how to be independent,” said Jessie.

“My favorite memory was watching the children go under the Maluan Mountain waterfall again and again,” said McGillicuddy. He encouraged the children to be brave and go under the waterfall. “A girl was really scared at first to go, but she went, hesitantly at first and then on her own four times,” McGillicuddy said he was proud of his students.

This was the first summer that the three partners organized camps together. When the holiday ends, the team plans to organize weekend outdoor excursions for schoolchildren on a regular basis.