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By: Joshua Tartakovsky
In the 15 acre-wide European Centre for Therapy, Leisure and Memory, with comfortable housing, horse stables and play areas, surrounded by lush hills, 120 kids enjoyed each other’s company at the Global Children’s Camp in the sunny July and August of 2006. The camp, located near Rakavica, 20 kilometers from Sarajevo, was organized by the non-profit Global Children’s Organization, which has been organizing camps in Northern Ireland and California since 1992. The organization opened in the Balkans for the first time in 1993 at the temporary location of Badija Islands, Croatia.
According to Alma Elezeovic, the long-time camp coordinator, the camp was initially created to give little orphans who survived the war a respite from their struggles in a safe and nurturing environment. But it was also hoped that the children will form new friendships with their peers from neighboring countries, in the almost surrealistic location. With children coming from places as diverse as Banja Luka, Mostar, Zenica, Split, Vukovar, Novi Sad, Kosovo and more, the camp is exceptional in bringing together children from formerly rival countries and in creating long-lasting friendships. “Six years ago their fathers were fighting against each other but today they are friends,” said Alma. “We are very proud of the new relationships that were made.” During a visit to the camp in July 2006, Ambassador Douglas Davidson, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina noted that the camp was a very worthwhile venture.
At any given day of the camp, children between the ages of 6 to 12, can be seen enjoying athletic sports, horseback riding, climbing the challenging climbing wall, producing artwork, and even sitting around a bonfire to the sound of guitars while enjoying freshly toasted marshmallows. Disco nights, ‘fashion’ displays and talent shows are also a frequent occurrence. The activities offered by patient counselors, however, have a greater impact than simply providing a distraction and relief from rough times. Counselor Fedja Kulenovic recalled how one of the children who came to the camp was at first extremely shy and barely spoke to anyone. After partaking in the sand play activity deliberately offered at the camp, which included building a structure in the sand and telling its story to the group, the shy boy began to smile and became surprisingly talkative. “He was almost unrecognizable”, said Fedja. Indeed, Fred Tanenbaum, an attorney from California and a long-time volunteer, said that the camp allows participants, including himself, to “become like children again.” Many volunteers come from the United States and sponsor themselves and one other child in order to attend the camp. According to Fred, if the camp will leave its young participants with a few pleasant memories from their childhood, than it has already accomplished much.
Jean Claude Carreau, the founder of the Centre and a professional rider himself, has high faith in the transformative power horse back riding can have on children. With the two large riding areas and the growing number of 15 ponies and horses, participants have amble opportunities to try. He explained that through horseback riding children can acquire discipline and confidence which will help them in all areas of their lives. The Centre also offers hippotherapy, which gives disabled people the opportunity to experience movement through horseback riding despite their obvious physical limitations. Whether disabled or not, “riding on a horse is the best therapy for any child,” Correau said.
After the death of his son, Captain Gilles Carreau, who was killed in Bosnia in 1995 while serving as a UN peacekeeper, Jean Claude Carreau said he wanted to do something in his memory and decided to take children from the war- scarred Balkans to Normandy where they might experience some fun. When a reservation he made was cancelled at the last minute, Carreau said he had a flash of inspiration and decided to build a haven for children who survived the war in Bosnia, which he sees as the most fitting place. Through contributing heavily from his own pocket, as well as through generous donations from the Luxembourg Government and others, Carreau purchased a large plot of land, which luckily was clean of landmines, and built the retreat from scratch. Now the Centre, with its modern accommodations and gorgeous location, is frequently used for retreats and seminars and also by adventurous tourist groups. Carreau’s not-for-profit foundation, the “Land of Friendship and Peace,” is the first one of its kind in Bosnia to help orphans and victims of the war.
“We are only beginning to fulfill the potential of this place,” said Carreau, who would like to build a swimming pool at the Centre and host more groups during the year for activities ranging from horse back riding for blind and disabled children, to music and movement therapy coupled with environmental education. Alma too would like to use the successful model established at the camp for expanded purposes. She would like to see children from the Middle East and South Africa coming to the Centre for a Global Children’s camp. Ambassador Davidson said that “The OSCE Mission to BiH is pleased to be able to support it in its own small way." Yet funds are short and for the Centre to evolve as a true haven for adults and children alike more contributions are direly needed. Nevertheless, despite the many obstacles he had in creating the Centre, Corrau is undeterred. “If I could, I would build a 100 more camps for orphans,” he said. In a Centre that would surely have been envied by Walt Whitman, Correau is coming closer to fulfilling his dream.
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