For the past ten years, the Jewish community of Omsk has been running Gan Israel summer camp for children from Omsk and other cities of Western Siberia. This year was the tenth season for the Gan Israel camp, held with support from the Ohr Avner Foundation and local businessmen.
Over the past decade, Gan Israel Omsk has given more than 1,200 underprivileged children the opportunity to rest, relax and recuperate, as well as learning about their Jewish heritage through fun and exciting activities. The summer camp offers an invaluable experience for children, enabling them to become more and more involved in Jewish life.
For ten days, children from Omsk, Novosibirsk, Barnaul and even Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan) gathered at the camp, where they were able to make new friends in a safe, healthy environment, have a full medical and dental work-up, and become acquainted with the multinational culture and traditions of Russia.
This year’s camp theme as “Time Travel through Jewish history.” Each morning began with flag-raising, both the Russian and camp anthems, fitness, sports and swimming sessions. For all ten days, the campers also attended workshops on Jewish topics. Other features of the camp included events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Great Patriotic War, paintball, a visit to a water park, tennis, volleyball and soccer. There were also many games, contests, and quizzes.
Towards the end of the camp, prizes were awarded to the most distinguished children. On the last evening, while sitting at the farewell campfire, the children and adults remembered the highlights of their memorable camp season.