Enduring Bonds: The Lasting Impact of Ufaratzta Summer Camp for Yaldei Hashluchim
“One Shabbos morning in Adar two years ago, everything changed,” 10-year-old shlucha to Kharkiv, Ukraine, Malka Moskovitz shared with her fellow young Shluchos gathered at MyShliach Ufarazta camp’s closing banquet. “We went from leading a bustling community center to sleeping in our basement with sandbags over the windows. Instead of learning in the local school with other Shluchim families, I now go to the online school.”
For Malka, the camp was a few weeks of respite and normalcy. Away from the chaos of war-torn Ukraine, where she remains a shluchah together with her family, the few weeks in peaceful Paris were a source of respite for months to come. For shluchos living under less dramatic circumstances too, this camp, born from the vision of one Shlucha over 3300 miles away from Malka’s home in Ukraine, brought the connectedness they dearly sought.
Uniting girls from as far as Australia and Barbados for three weeks in Paris, wasn’t something Ghana Shluchah Mrs. Alti Majesky, set out to do. But registrations came pouring in when she announced plans to create a camp that showers Yaldei Hashluchos with abundant ruchnius experiences and a packed schedule of trips and activities. The community of Shluchim around the world pulled through. With the backing of MyShliach at Merkos 302, over 75 girls from 37 countries experienced a legendary summer with their peers.
The girls, many of whom had only met in online school before camp, were united by a shared lifestyle: Growing up on Shlichus. Whether the serene lakes of Hungary or Panama’s tropical rainforests were what they call home, they had no trouble finding common experiences to bond over in the French metropolis. Supporting each other through their unique challenges and finding a community in which they belong, the girls learned volumes from one another.
The camp schedule had an emphasis on Chassidishe farbrengens. After a full-day trip, visiting Paris’s iconic Eifel Tower, the Pletzel, and all sorts of activities, the evening often saw campers settle in for a warm Chassidishe farbrengen. Experienced Shluchim and Shluchos including Rabbi YY Pevzner, Head Shliach and director of Sinai schools in Paris, and Mrs. Rochel Leigh, of Cambridge University were among the guest speakers.
“Growing up on Shlichus is the ultimate sacrifice a child can make for The Rebbe’s vision,” explains Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, director of Merkos 302, MyShliach’s umbrella organization. “Getting together with other kids in the same boat reinforces the Shlichus itself, and provides perspective to their goals. It enables them to forge friendships with other shluchos that will last a lifetime. As the Rebbe taught us, summer camp can indeed be more impactful than an entire school year.”
The camp, which had campers from six continents, is directed by Mrs. Alti Majesky and hosted by Rabbi AB and Chani Pevzner, directors of Camp Gan Yisroel and Sinai in the 20th District. The luxurious closing banquet featured a musical performance by French singer Meleha. An emotional “roll call” of the campers on shlichus in 37 countries, reminiscent of the Kinus Hashluchim, celebrated the camp’s unique demographic. Campers left looking forward to next summer, where they’ll be reunited with their new friends from across borders.
For more information about MyShliach Ufaratza Camp please visit: www.ufaratztacamp.com
