Alive with tourism and commerce, Nassau is the beautiful cultural and religious epicenter of the Bahamas. Yet there are areas on the island that have fallen through the cracks.
The All Saints Camp provides housing and healthcare to dozens of children and adults who are suffering from HIV and AIDS, but recently, a lack of support has left many of these residents living in a very unhealthy environment. Many of the small wood cabins in which they live are deteriorating and need to be repaired or completely rebuilt. The shelter's sanctuary, bathhouse, and other buildings, are also in desperate need of expansion and repair. In addition, the concrete walkway through the camp is so cracked and crumbling that many residents cannot safely leave their cabins.
Next Step Ministries is excited to work with the Adventure Learning Center in Nassau to restore this much needed camp to a state of operation where people can receive medical care in a beautiful and clean environment. We have a five-year vision to replace every cabin on the property with larger cabins that have bathrooms and ventilated, hurricane-strapped roofs.
Students will have the challenging task of tearing down the old cabins while also constructing new ones. In addition, students will demolish the old concrete walkway and lay new, stronger concrete. When needed, students will perform a number of repairs to cabins and buildings consisting of replacing roofs, siding, screen doors, stairs and other projects as necessary.
Perhaps more important than the work projects, students will have many opportunities to spend time with the residents, hear their amazing stories and share their love for God with each other. Students consistently tell us how the residents at the All Saints Camp truly impacted and changed their lives forever.
On the free day, students will have the chance to walk through the vast aquariums at the Atlantis Resort and enjoy the beautiful Bahamian beaches.
Students will leave Nassau with an appreciation for a new culture and a better understanding of a terrible disease. Students will be able to attach a real face to the terrible AIDS epidemic that last year alone killed 2.1 million people, including 330,000 children.
This trip is a truly life-changing experience.
Cost: $599
Read a blog entry that a youth director wrote after taking his high school youth group to the All Saints Camp with Next Step...
Read two articles about a group's experience...