Union Congregational Youth Help Navajo Children

Fourteen high schoolers and five adults from Union Congregational Church boarded a plane two days after school let out for the summer to bring a Vacation Bible School type experience to 100 Navajo children living in Sawmill, Arizona.

This reservation is one of the poorest communities in the United States with 56 percent of its residents living below the poverty line.

The group had met throughout the spring to plan the curriculum of activities, games, crafts, story telling, and music that would shape the experience. Upon arrival in Sawmill, they set about canvassing the homes, inviting children to attend. It was mostly a door-to-door campaign as the town is very small with only two storefronts.

The next day they headed out with four minivans and collected 66 children for the first day of Peace Camp. By day four, word had spread through the community and 100 children climbed into the vans headed to camp. Energy levels were high for both attendees and the group of teens and adults running the program.

Although seemingly from two different worlds the joy and love shared between the group is just what Peace Camp was meant to be about. Union Congregational Church will run Peace Camp in Montclair from July 30 to August 3. Visit the church's website for more information or call 974-744-7424.