by Pamela Okoro

Created on: May 06, 2008

My church has an annual camp meeting for teenagers- they call it TFC- Teens for Christ. It's one of those camp meetings that everyone enjoys going for. Adults apply as counselors and the church encourages their participation because teenagers need to be watched

The major advantage of these meetings is that teens from all the branches in the State can come together, mix up and share their testimonies. The camp focuses on character building, spiritual, social and intellectual growth. There are competitions and games that encourage interaction and competitiveness among them. Teens need to learn positive competitive attitudes and how to give their best to every project they attempt.

The basic con at these meetings is what we all encounter in life; no matter how many good eggs are in camp, there will surely be bad ones. These children can mix with the wrong crowd at any one of these meetings and if not checked by parents it could lead to a lifetime of regrets. It is not unheard of for teens who became friends at camp to get in the family way. Also, it is easy for them to pick up sundry vices due to strong peer pressure.

This is why it's better for teens to go for these meeting with their friends to encourage self confidence and make it feel like familiar territory to them.

There are no camps dedicated to troubled teenagers in Nigeria, but Churches organize regular camp meetings. An NGO I know off sponsors teenagers for camp meetings and the children come back all the better for it. I believe the issue of shipping children off to teenage camp to correct them like they are spoilt toys' should be changed. The fact that the child is troubled is as a result of the society we live in.

Children should be cared for from home and parents and guardians ought to watch them and get advice on how to help them psychologically. The church is not the sole mender of children; there are so many adults and children it has to care for. So troubled teenagers should be sent to camp but not just to change them, they need to be made to understand that they are going to camp to have an encounter with the Lord and to share of themselves with other people. They also need to know that there are people in worse situations than themselves who are getting on with their lives.

So guardians and parents, please, stop classifying teenagers as troubled or otherwise, even you have issues. Get them to go to Christian camp to enjoy themselves.

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