Camp Sizanani
Encyclopedia
Camp Sizanani was founded as a joint venture between Global Camps Africa, a non-profit headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and HIVSA, a South African foundation that provides care and services to HIV
-affected individuals. Located in the town of Magaliesburg in the Gauteng
province of South Africa
, Sizanani offers multiple camp sessions throughout the year for children aged nine through fifteen whose lives have been affected by HIV. The term HIV-affected can imply that an individual is infected with the virus
, but it can also mean that the infection of family members or guardians have impacted the individual's life. While some children at Sizanani carry HIV, many more have been orphaned by a parent's AIDS
-related death or have family members coping with the disease. Nearly all of Sizanani's campers come from Soweto
, Johannesburg
's enormous township
, to which black Africans were banished during South Africa's apartheid era. The children attend the camp free of charge; they are sponsored by the WorldCamps corporation and its donors.
word which translates idiomatically to mean "help each other". It is largely modeled on North American summer camp
tradition. Accordingly, its stated goals include fostering independence, self-esteem, cooperative skills, respect for others and awareness of health issues. This final goal is particularly unique to Sizanani, given the children's backgrounds and the AIDS crisis that continues to grip South Africa.
, soccer, volleyball
and basketball
), and Life Skills. Life Skills is a class that teaches health awareness, proper nutrition/hygiene, prevention of STD's, sexuality and identifying abuse. It is the single most important segment of the camp.
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-affected individuals. Located in the town of Magaliesburg in the Gauteng
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Sizanani offers multiple camp sessions throughout the year for children aged nine through fifteen whose lives have been affected by HIV. The term HIV-affected can imply that an individual is infected with the virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
, but it can also mean that the infection of family members or guardians have impacted the individual's life. While some children at Sizanani carry HIV, many more have been orphaned by a parent's AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related death or have family members coping with the disease. Nearly all of Sizanani's campers come from Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
's enormous township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
, to which black Africans were banished during South Africa's apartheid era. The children attend the camp free of charge; they are sponsored by the WorldCamps corporation and its donors.
Goals
Sizanani takes its name from a ZuluZulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
word which translates idiomatically to mean "help each other". It is largely modeled on North American summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
tradition. Accordingly, its stated goals include fostering independence, self-esteem, cooperative skills, respect for others and awareness of health issues. This final goal is particularly unique to Sizanani, given the children's backgrounds and the AIDS crisis that continues to grip South Africa.
Curriculum
A day at Camp Sizanani would likely include any or all of the following: dance and drumming, permaculture/gardening, swimming, arts & crafts, adventure/teamwork, sports (including cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, soccer, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
), and Life Skills. Life Skills is a class that teaches health awareness, proper nutrition/hygiene, prevention of STD's, sexuality and identifying abuse. It is the single most important segment of the camp.