OPEN DAY 10.7.

10.7.

OPEN DAY

Today we had our open day which everyone has been waiting and preparing for. We had super cleaning groups in the morning and after that all the kids had to prepare their bags for family stays.
The open day started at 15.00 when all the delegations had organized their own table in the lobby; whit candy, flags and different info about their country. During one hour our guests had the possibility to walk around and get to know about all the campers. At 16.00 the program started in the gym. All the delegations had a short show, which went really well. We finished the open day with flag time and then the children left for their home stays and leaders for their weekend.
We were very happy with the open day, everything went as we planned.

Camp director's speech:

Hello everyone and welcome to Wild Child Village! My name is Johanna Sandberg and I am the Camp Director here.

CISV Wild Child Village is a camp for 11-year-olds from all over the world. This year we have participants from 13 different countries which you will soon get a chance to meet.
CISV was founded over 50 years ago by Doris Allen on a thought that if kids from different countries got to meet and know other kids from other countries they should become more tolerant towards other cultures and habits. This thought of peace and understanding is what unites CISVers from all around the world.

We are happy to meet up here in Lahti and Lahden Yhteiskoulu for our camp. For two weeks now, we have lived together, eaten together, played together and become great friends. A normal day here at camp usually consists of everyone waking up at the same time, gathering at the flag pole where we raise the CISV flag and sing the CISV song and after that it’s breakfast and cleaning groups. We have three different activity periods during the day when we do different games and plays. The activities vary from running games, warm up’s and energizers to more advanced activities. There we want to give the kids a chance to reflect on themselves and their place in the world. National nights are a great opportunity for everyone to experience the different cultures through games, dancing and national food. We also have a couple of excursions and we have already been to the ski museum and the ski jumping towers. This was definitely a sight that everyone wanted to see. Unfortunately it rained the day we wanted to go to the beach but everyone has, by now, gotten used to the Finnish summer weather which we all know doesn’t always cooperate.

So, at this point I would like the following people to please stand up and that is our wonderful staff! Please meet Silja Borgarsdottir Sandelin, Olli Sihvonen, Janna Rosenqvist and Annette Guillou. I would also like to thank Markku Moisala, the principal of Lahden Yhteiskoulu, for letting us live here and for the warm welcome that we have received. Last but not least the following people also deserve a great thank you: Kati Renvall for all the hard work she has put into the planning of this village as well as Linda Nummelin, also a member of the planning committee. Host families, kitchen staffers, volunteers and donors, we all appreciate the work you have put into making Wild Child Village possible.
So, without further ado, please sit back and enjoy the show!