Spotlight on Tikvah


Posted: 7/27/2008
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Tikvah, which is Hebrew for "hope," is a program at Camp Ramah for campers with special needs.  The campers represent a range of disabilities, including Asperger's Syndrome, high functioning Autism, intellectually disabled, ADHD and other impairments in social functioning.  While Tikvah does have its own programming, they also participate in classes and programs with Machon in order to integrate the Tikvah campers into the mainstream camp program.  Most of the Tikvah campers stay for the whole eight-week summer, but there is also a program called Taste of Tikvah which allows campers to come for four weeks during their first summer.

Emilie B. (Rosh Tikvah):I was a camper here for two summers and this is now my sixth summer on staff.  I was a Solelim counselor for one year and then have been with Tikvah ever since.  This is my second year being Rosh Tikvah.  After being a counselor, I loved working with Tikvah.  I love the campers and it's been a great experience, so I was ready to move forward and challenge myself by becoming Rosh.

The biggest project Tikvah does during the summer is the Tikvah Lunch Theatre.  The campers wrote, directed, and performed their own plays based around the theme "Lost: Jews Throughout History."  The campers did a phenomenal job, combining different stories from different periods through time.  Then they performed for some of the older campers and staff.  It was a really exciting project.

Our campout was also a lot of fun.  We went on a hike, cooked out our own dinner, sat around the bonfire, had our own talent show where almost all of the campers performed, either with jokes or songs.  It was a lot of fun.

I think it's really special and awesome that we have a variety of people in Tikvah who come from different places all around the country.  They're all different ages and bring different energy to the group.  It's really cool.


Erin B. (Tikvah):  I like being in Tikvah because we get to go on campouts.  It's a fun place to be.  I really like arts and crafts, volleyball, and Tikvah Lunch Theatre.  This year was the second time I've been in the Tikvah Lunch Theatre.  We were in groups with Machon and Nivo and we each made up our own play.  This year I played one of the children in a scene about the Holocaust in the play.

Ari S. (Tikvah):  I like being in Tikvah because I like the special Tikvah Kiddush on Shabbat.  I can hang out with friends and have a fun time on Shabbat.  I also really like playing basketball and kayaking.  I really liked Yom Sport because we got to play sports all day and it was really fun.  I'm looking forward to playing in the Machon-Nivonim basketball game.