And in another Camp across the city saw young participants rotating between outdoor sports and indoor coding. It's the final week of the camp and Jomarie Lanza stopped by to see how much progress these kids have made in sports and learning to code. Here's that story.
It's not just sports and physical activity here at this summer camp, the children are also learning how to code, and make use of their creativity by putting together stories on a program. There are about 2 dozen of them here at the YMCA and they have spent the last 3 weeks learning the basics in basketball, volleyball, and some computer skills. Their Executive Director told us that the program is structured to include a variety of activities:
Clara Cuellar, Executive Director, YMCA Belize:
"This summer the Y is celebrating the fact that we are finally able to bring all the programs to our Y facility. We have had programs at St John's Jr College, at Radisson pool and we are always moving to find a place. wWth the support and help from the minister of tourism and sports we have been able to fill our yard and so now we can have all our functions here with the support from education because their support for technology especially with little ones we are able to do our technology program so this summer we have basketball, Volleyball and coding for little children between the ages of 7 and 12 and what better age to start with. It is a three week program and they come 4 days a week and they are taught by volunteers who had to go through a one week training in the different areas. So we are very happy to celebrate this moment it's a huge moment for us to be on our own compound even though it is extremely hot this summer so the volunteers are wilting out there as we do the program everyday."
"It provides a structured place where children can have fun the most important thing about summer is I want to be happy I want to have a good time I want to form new friends and then we the adults put in and learn something so when you can have the combination of that it is important so as you have seen every group here is small because children learn and get better attention in small groups so if you try to limit the group to like 12 in a group they learn each other's name they come from both sides of Fabers road on the Collet side and on the port Loyola side. So we bring them all together as one and they play together and children are children when you get them together."
Cuellar says that while the children remain active during the camp they are also learning how to be disciplined, confident and how to socialise with others. And so we asked the kids what they've been learning so far.
Janet Lockwood, YMCA Camper:
"I never learned how to play basketball but when I came Ms Cuellar taught us how to shoot, she always reminds us to do elbows out and wrists snap and that's how I learned to play basketball. What is your favourite thing about being here today? Playing basketball"
Byron Slusher, YMCA Camper:
"I am learning how to put the volleyball over the net and in basketball I learned how to do the hand position and how to hold the ball to shoot in the hoop What's your favourite thing about the camp? That how they teach us how to do different things and how to make stories, make games on the computer."
