Free to Run takes program participants on their first camping expedition to an ancient village in Iraq
Earlier this year, 9 of our participants in Iraq experienced their first-ever hiking and camping expedition to the village of Hartel in a mountainous district in northern Iraq. Starting at the bottom of a hill, the team hiked up to the village carrying all their belongings for the night. Along the way, they stopped to harvest pomegranates, mountain mint, lemongrass, raspberries, and walnuts. As the daylight faded, the team set up camp and sang songs beside the fire. They camped out under the stars, and awoke the next day to hike to a nearby waterfall.
The trip was an opportunity for our participants to realize how brave and capable they are and to celebrate how much progress they’d made as a team. At the start, a few of the girls were nervous about the idea of camping. Tagreed, age 15, said,
“I was very scared to sleep in a tent alone. Later all of this worry disappeared when I saw there were enough sleeping bags. My favorite part was eating pomegranates. I told my family about a nice and happy experience with camping, about cooking, tasting pomegranates, walnuts, berry, sumac, and pears, all from nature. My father was proud of me and mother was happy that I made this trip. I feel I learned a lot from this camping trip. I never knew I would make such progress in sport, and also to learn about caring about the environment through hiking and going camping.They’re all useful and good experiences. I advise every girl to try it!”
The camping expedition also helped our participants realize how strong they have become through running. Tiba, age 14 said,
“I feel proud and strong to have had this opportunity with the Free to Run team. At first, I was worried about camping, wondering if I could sleep without my family. I was very scared at night, but now I am not afraid anymore after I tried it. The best part of camping was preparing food and the hiking was very nice. It was a quiet, calm atmosphere, listening to the sound of the nearby stream, smelling the fresh air, and eating the tasty food. I told my family about my magnificent experience there. They became excited and want to try it in the future.”
Of course, not all of the girls were hesitant about camping,
“The thing I was most worried about was that the camping trip might be canceled! “, said Haneen, age 15. “I was very excited to try such an experience for the first time in my life! My favorite part of the trip was sitting around the fire in the evening. I saw many trees, nature, and beautiful mountains.
I told my family about all the things we did, especially making the fire and how I was sleeping near my friends. They were happy for my happiness. I feel strong and free after this experience, but also relaxed. I loved the waterfalls and feeling the cold water. It was amazing to hike so high in the mountains.”
t was such a beautiful trip; the participants made it clear how much they enjoyed being able to relax in a peaceful, quiet environment-- something they don’t get to experience often.
Special thanks to the Spark Change Running Program in partnership with PUMA and Women Win for making the camping expedition possible this year! Please consider donating to Free to Run so that next year’s participants can experience their first camping experience too!
