Jack Roberts Camp 2008 – A Venturers Perspective
For those that don’t know Jack Roberts camp is a camp for boys with disabilities, run by the scouting organisation. The camp is held every year at the Oakbank racecourse in January. The helpers of the camp are of the venturering section of scouting and guides of the same age are also allowed to attend. There are also numerous leaders, lead by Ross Vivan, who run the activities and the general management of the camp.
For leaders and patrol leaders the camp started 2 days before the buddies arrived. On this day we all set up the Oakbank campsite ready for the rest of the venturers to arrive the next day. Numerous tents were set up and other odds and ends that needed to be sorted out around the campsite. This day was a great to build up leadership skills for the patrol leaders.
The next day the rest of the venturers/guides arrived for a briefing on the work that would be required throughout the week. Talks were given about safety, not just of the buddies but also of the venturers. After the briefing the more little jobs were done which was great to build up patrol spirit.
That night a lot of white venturers/guide faces went to bed not knowing what to expect in the next day. The handful of us who had been to the camp before were also looking slightly strained, wondering what challenges would await us this year.
The next day the buddies arrived and the venturers found out that the workload was not as demanding as they had imagined.
There were various activities throughout the week that involved everyone and created a lot of new friendships. These activities were based around the camp theme, which was medieval. Some of these activities included jousting, a maze, catapulting, a dragon ride, wheelchair wrestling armour making and many more.
There were also some offsite trips. These days proved to be great fun. Our first offsite trip was to woodhouse. Here the buddies learnt about some of the true scouting ways, including how to cook with Hayboxes, geocaching and some knot tying which ended up making a trebuchet. Numerous activities were also run at woodhouse, one of the favourites would have been using the big catapults.
Our next offsite trip was to the Oakbank area school Pool. The day might not have been the warmest, but most of the buddies still swum despite the cool conditions. For lunch the local Lions club cooked a barbeque. On the same day, when got back to camp and had eaten dinner the CFS came up and we had a big waterfight which was enjoyed by everyone.
Our last offsite trip was to St Kilda playground. The playground is wheelchair accessible so the buddies could go on pretty much everything there. The big slide was the biggest attraction and many buddies went on numerous times. The day was brought to a halt a little bit early because the mangrove walk was closed. It got better that night on the final night because it was the party night when everyone got to dress up to the theme, the party was a great success and the buddies had a great time.
As the week went by venturers became very close to the buddies and it was a very emotional experience on the Saturday when the buddies started departing, which told us that they really got connected and we think it opened up their eyes a bit to what's going on.
The camp was a great experience for all and the feeling received by all the venturers was truly amazing. The best feeling you could get is when you see the buddies smile or when you hear them laugh.
We would like to say a big thanks to the cooks who provided the best meals you could ask for and enough to feed an army. Thank you Barb and Eileen. Also a big thank you to all the leaders who did a mighty job running the activities. Most importantly thanks to Ross who keeps the camp going and has been doing so for a large number of years. Lets not forget the venturers who worked all through the week.
By Adam Leibhardt and Matt Ingham
1st Lyndoch Venturers
Jack Roberts Camp for young boys with disabilities
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