Summer Camp an Opportunity to Serve Young Disabled People

Geoff Gamble and Jim Bowe with Chris and Tom Hogan 

Jean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche network of homes for people with intellectual disabilities, is an insightful as well as spiritual man.  “Community”, he wrote, “is made of the gentle concern that people show every day. It is made up of the small gestures, of services and sacrifices which say ‘I love you’ and ‘I am happy to be with you.’ It is letting the other go in front of you, not trying to prove that you are right in a discussion; it is taking the small burdens from the other.” 

The Order of Malta’s 32nd Annual Summer Camp could have been what Vanier had in mind. Hosted this year by France at the French naval academy, Ecole Naval, on the Crozon Peninsula in Brittany, the Summer Camp began in 1984 when the then Grand Hospitaller initiated an annual camp. It was to be held during the summer months to offer young people with physical or learning disabilities an opportunity to meet other disabled people of the same age, as well as to provide some respite for their caregivers. The first camp, in Salzburg, Austria, hosted 50 people from five countries. Since then, the camp has been organized each summer in a different European country, and over 5000 young disabled people from all over the world have already taken part in this adventure.

This year, more than 500 participants, of whom 200 were young disabled aged 18 to 35, came from 24 different countries, and as far away as Singapore, to share a unique week of friendship, generosity and joy. (The Ukrainian team traveled four days by bus to reach Brittany.)  The young disabled, so often used to staying at the hospital or in an institution, thoroughly enjoyed themselves with trips at sea, visits, games, parties, nightly disco, and more. Masses in many languages and opportunities for confession and counseling were scattered throughout the week. One night was devoted to Eucharistic Adoration. 

For the first time, the USA fielded a complete team. Helpers were Jim Bowe, son of Michele and Jim Bowe of the Federal Association, Kate Gordon from Chicago, and Dr. Michael Espiritu, a neonatologist and Knight from New York. The camp is planned and implemented almost entirely by young people, age 35 or younger.  This year’s event was two years in the making. 

Next year’s camp will be held in Krakow, Poland. I hope that the US associations will join to field a bigger American team. Each Team can have up to 20 helpers and eight or nine guests, so there is plenty of room to grow. Eventually, we might hold a similar camp here in the US, but we need to engage younger Members first, and we need more experience on how a camp works.  In the meantime, participation in the European camp is open to us.  

The Catholic writer, Graham Greene, once wrote: “One can’t love humanity; one can only love people.” “Service” can be such a superficial word. It is really only the currency of a much more important though fleeting relationship between individuals.  Real “service” is simply friendly, respectful human contact. It sounds simple enough, but it is not. Distraction, personal preoccupation, physical discomfort all can get in the way of showing gentle concern and patience with someone who needs only these things and only for a moment. We can be very proud of our young Americans who participated in this year’s summer camp.