Campers Return As Counselors At Mercy ‘Peace Camp’
Four former Camp Akwaba participants join camp staff to ‘give back’ because of their positive experience

Canton, Ohio: When Mercy Medical Center Mission Outreach established its annual summer “peace camp” in 1995, its goal was to help area youth learn to handle conflicts in a productive way. Twelve years later, Camp Akwaba continues to touch the lives of southeast Canton children, inspiring former campers to become counselors because of their positive experience.

Thirty-six children age six to 10 attended Camp Akwaba 2007, held July 16 – 20 at Peoples Baptist Church in southeast Canton. Four former campers, including Tahneethia Wilcox, a senior at GlenOak High School, were part of a 24-member staff. Wilcox, a Camp Akwaba camper for six years, began attending at age five. This was her first year as a counselor.

She said, “I really connected with my camp counselors, and I still keep in touch with one. She’s always been there for me, suggesting ways to go about problems with family and friends. Because she changed my life, I wanted to be part of changing others’ lives through Camp Akwaba, too.”

After completing high school, Wilcox plans to major in dance and minor in business at Kent State University.

Other campers-turned-counselors included Cheville Ross, a Timken High School student; Cedric Ware, a sophomore at McKinley High School; and Matthew Jones, a 2005 graduate of McKinley High School. Jones was the first to return, becoming a counselor in 2005.

“I decided to join the Camp Akwaba staff so I could give back to my community,” said Matthew. “I enjoy interacting with the kids and helping them practice the rules of peace-building.”

Camp Akwaba focuses on six peace-building principles, including praise people, give up put-downs, notice hurts, right wrongs, seek wise people and help others. The program also offers education about nutrition and substance abuse. Mercy Food Services provided the children with hot lunches.