Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Passion radiates from Tafar Chia Lewis’ being as she talks about I am Caribbean (iCaribbean), the summer camp she runs for children. It is this same passion that she seeks to pass on to her students during the three week camp, which this year runs from July 11 to 29 2016.

Lewis said her camp, which is in its fourth year, teaches children ages five to 13 about what it means to be Caribbean using the art disciplines such as music, dance and drama. “We educate them about things that are indigenous to us in the Caribbean, because sometimes there’s a sense that foreign is better, and we try to promote that despite where they are in the world, they are equipped to be the best because of this rich history we have.”
The theme of the camp this year is “I am Caribbean and I believe in me and in my country.” She said negative events in T&T, including the crime rate, are very disconcerting, and while older people may have the option to leave the country, children cannot do so. “They are the ones who go to secondary school, they are the ones to end up in Parliament, they are the future of the country and if there is no hope, no passion, no zeal to do anything about the problem, I think we’re just going to be going nowhere fast. I think it’s our responsibility to bring that hope back and that sense of national and Caribbean pride, and we do not take it lightly.”
Lewis said the camp also works to instill critical thinking skills as well as confidence in the participants to speak up for themselves “because they have to make big decisions when they become adults and if from small there’s this insecurity that continues to build, then we’re going to continue to have these problems, because there’s no sense of belonging to you, your community and your family.”
She said parental participation is expected and encouraged, as in her experience, many parents just drop off their children to the camp and do not take an active interest in what their children are doing. “When I write my welcome letters, I always say thank you for partnering with us. In this society parenting is a problem and some of the parents are just not involved and we’re trying to change that. You have to play with and have conversations with your children, because if you don’t, how would you know what your child likes, etc., so that’s the kind of seed we plant with the parents because the work is really between them and the child when we leave.”
Activities will include a talent show, novelty sports, stilt-walking, tamboo bamboo, mas-making, African dance, and a Masquerade Ball among others. “It comes from the tradition of the Dame Lorraine Ball. The festival we’re studying this year is Carnival and we’re honoring Peter Minshall in our work as well. So we give them a history and there’s a theme and you have to dress up as such.”
Lewis said they also teach the children about recycling and upcycling, partially due to a lack of funding, but also because “we believe in teaching the children how to create from nothing because that is a skill that nobody can take from you, and if you have that skill you can survive anywhere in the world.”
She said she was fortunate growing up as her parents understood she belonged in the arts and worked hard to make sure she had opportunities to attend art programs. Lewis said it’s her responsibility to pass it along and also help parents who could not afford it otherwise. “I love children and I love the arts and I feel there’s nothing I can do in this world that’s as important as helping a child believe in themselves and what they can offer the world. One of the quotes that we look at is from Aristotle “Education of the mind with education of the heart is no education at all” and that is one of the things that drives us. We want to create a safe space where children can play, create, imagine and believe.”
For more information call 298-8124 or find Camp iCaribbean on Facebook. The camp costs $300 for the three weeks.

Originally published in the T&T Guardian on July 10, 2016