You helped these young men ‘Overcome’

Overcomer’s Camp is about helping boys grow in resilience so they can ‘overcome’ the challenges they face in life, whether it’s persevering through physical challenges or learning practical life skills to aid them in the real world. 

This year, 16 young men came to camp and left with new mates and a whole bunch of new skills in their toolkit. 

“The boys have to take everything they need on camp: mattresses, blankets and stuff like that. They learn how to cook and sleep in a tent. The whole camp is based around mateship and overcoming obstacles, and the activities are a bit more challenging than on a school camp,” says Camp Co-Director, Matt.

Some of these activities included boys wading through freezing cold, waist-deep water while carrying a stretcher, trekking through tunnels in the dark, and building a bridge over a dam which they had to walk across.

“Over the camp, the theme of teamwork was so drummed into the boys that you really saw those mateship friendships form. In one challenge, they couldn’t progress until every camper had completed the task, and it was really interesting to watch that tension build and see how the group learnt to work together,” says Matt.

Yet in the middle of all the flurry and activities, there were some deeper moments of connection as the campers opened up about things they were facing in their young lives. And right there, in the middle of their broken and difficult circumstances, the campers were reminded that they are created with the potential to overcome all things through Christ who strengthens them.

“We had a real mixed bag of kids at Overcomers this year,” says Don, who co-directed this year’s camp with Matt.  

“One family was in a recent crisis, looking for a home before they were evicted. There were two boys who had lost their mum in tragic circumstances, and another young guy whose dad had just come out of brain surgery. It’s pretty full-on stuff,” adds Don. 

A lot of the campers don’t have dads, so the team of leaders were really intentional about creating a safe and welcoming environment, while role-modelling what healthy masculinity and mateship looks like.

One young person left camp saying, “I made some good friends, overcame challenges, learnt to cook and slept in a tent. Loved it.”

Thanks to your support, camps like Overcomers exist to help our young people grow and develop through adversity, while learning that they have what it takes to overcome. To keep this work going, head to su.org.au/donate.