Video summary
The video highlights the unique story of Camp Sarah, a summer camp operating in Nigeria that brings the traditional American Jewish camp experience to a community with no resident rabbi. Founded by Debbie Isser, an American who arrived in Abuja in 2021 while working for the World Bank, the camp was established to support the local Igbo people, many of whom identify as descendants of the lost tribes of Israel and practice Jewish customs. Recognizing that many children in this community were the only Jews in their schools, Isser realized that a summer camp would serve a dual purpose: providing fun and educational experiences for the youth while simultaneously creating a self-perpetuating pipeline of young leaders who could eventually become staff members themselves.
The daily life at Camp Sarah mirrors the structure of camps in the United States, beginning with morning prayers and progressing through age-group sessions focused on specific themes such as the Jewish life cycle or the Jewish calendar. These activities incorporate Hebrew learning, songs, rituals, and discussions on core values, fostering a strong sense of belonging among the campers. The program also features practical leadership training, which has significantly impacted counselors like Edna Adiza, who has grown from a camper into a responsible organizer and leader for younger children. This environment not only teaches Jewish knowledge but also builds confidence and patience in the youth, allowing them to lead their peers and sustain the community's spiritual growth independently.
For the campers, the experience is deeply personal and transformative, as many have recently converted to Judaism or are deepening their understanding of their heritage. Zion Donatus, a twelve-year-old camper, describes the camp as "heaven on earth," noting that it helps him understand concepts he previously found confusing and provides him with friends who support his learning. The camp has become a vital space where children born into Jewish families or those who converted can connect with their identity in a supportive environment, free from the isolation they might feel outside the camp gates. The presence of visiting religious leaders, such as Rabbi Gershom Sizomu from Uganda and his student Ruth Mugongo, further enriches the spiritual atmosphere, ensuring that the educational content remains robust even without a permanent rabbi on site.
Looking toward the future, the success of Camp Sarah has sparked interest in expanding this model to other African nations, including plans for a camp in Uganda led by Rabbi Gershom. The organization has already begun running mini-camps in other Nigerian states like Port Harcourt and Ebony State, demonstrating the high demand for such resources within these communities. Although the local population is not wealthy, the founders rely on fundraising to maintain operations, driven by a clear goal of sustainability and growth. Ultimately, Camp Sarah stands as a testament to how community-driven initiatives can preserve religious identity and foster leadership among youth in unexpected places, proving that the spirit of summer camp can thrive far beyond its traditional borders.
Read the full video transcript
A large part of the Jewish American
experience for youngsters is to go away
to summer camp. But now summer camp is
making dreams come true in Nigeria, home
to 100 synagogues but no rabbi in
particular and scores of Igbo people who
identify and practice Jewish customs.
The Igbo is one of the country's largest
ethnic groups and they believe to be the
descendants of the lost tribes of
Israel. And this summer children are
getting a full-on camp experience at
Camp Sarah. And joining us now from
Nigeria in Abuja is quite a trifecta of
interesting people. Welcome Debbie
Isser, founder of Camp Sarah, and camp
counselor Edna Adiza and
12-year-old camper Zion Donatus.
Thank you for being here all of you in
the middle of camp.
>> Thanks so much for having us on the
show.
>> This is really exciting and I'm living
vicariously because my favorite summers
were myself going away to summer camp.
So I guess Debbie we'll start with you.
As an American we know how how important
summer camps are. How did you come up
with this really interesting idea?
>> Well, I came to Nigeria in 2021.
I work for the World Bank so I was
posted here and I was looking for a
community to celebrate the Chagim with
and
I I learned about this amazing Jewish
community in Abuja.
There are three synagogues here and each
one has a really robust
intergenerational
spirited community.
And I was
you know so much of it was familiar at
the same time as as you know having
beautiful songs that had you know
different tunes.
So
I would every time I went back to the US
I'd come back with a suitcase of
tallitot, tzitzit, kippah, whatever I
could come up with. And then I started
talking to the community about what we
could provide um, to help sustain their
community. You know, what it is that
they really wanted. And they pretty
unanimously said that they really wanted
their children,
um, to have the to have access to
resources and to feel like they were
part of a broader Jewish community. So
many of the children are the only Jew in
their school, um, and they really just
wanted their kids to to have that kind
of experience. And immediately I thought
of camp, um, which ended up being, you
know, it's it's sort of a twofer. On the
one hand, it's it's provides campers
with a great experience of fun and
learning, um, but it was also a great
way to develop a cohort of youth
leaders,
um, who became the staff, um, and create
this pipeline of youth leaders so that
it self-perpetuates.
>> Wow, that is so so brilliant. So, um,
Edna, I know this is your fourth year as
a counselor. Tell us, uh, the experience
for you. How has it impacted your life,
changed your life, and also, like um,
she just said, taught you more about
leadership and being the leaders for the
next generations?
>> Okay, hi. My name is Edna. I'm from Imo
State, Nigeria. I worship at Gihon
Hebrew Synagogue Abuja, and this is my
fourth year in camp. Okay, camp has
helped me be um, camp has helped me
become responsible,
um, giving us the leadership, taught us
how to be leaders. It has given me
confidence. And when I talk about
confidence, I talk about, um, because we
we have a 3-day leadership training
where we are taught to become great
leaders, we're taught how to teach the
campers, how to be patient with them.
And, um,
when I talk about confidence,
we
>> I mean, Edna has stepped up this year
from not only being a counselor, but
from organizing the camper registration.
And she's in charge the of the A-Dab,
that we call of the 8 to 10-year-olds.
>> Wow, very responsible. I want to hear
from Cion. We'll get back to you, Edna,
but, uh, Cion, your, uh,
This must be very fun for you. What is
your your favorite part about camp? The
sports, the people, the food, color war?
Tell us.
>> Okay, like my favorite part about camp
are the activities we do after lunch.
Like I'm at the
swimming pool game, and where I'm
learning how to do a color cover, and I
thought it would be fun to add a skill
to learning. So, basically, that's one
of the best experience I've had as my
kid life.
>> As your kid life. Well, um and explain
also um that would be more about what um
how this incorporates Jewish values and
a feeling of community, not just knowing
that there are people that are that are
caring about about these youngsters, but
also
given that there's no rabbi or organized
system, how this could also pay off in
the long run.
>> Sure. Um well, last year we were
actually very lucky to be joined by
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu of the Abayudaya
community in Uganda. Uh and he came and
spent the two weeks with us as our
resident rabbi. He wasn't able to come
this year, um but he sent one of his
students, Ruth Mugongo,
um who has been joining us and has been
leading our Yahadut sessions. So, a camp
day, it's very much like an American
camp summer day. We start together with
tfila,
um and then we move on into our
different age groups, um where there are
two periods in the morning before lunch,
one of which is Yahadut, and the Yahadut
focuses on um one of the themes. So, the
theme this year is the Jewish life
cycle. Um last year we did the Jewish
calendar. Um and these are, you know,
opportunities to bring out both um you
know, laws of Judaism, rituals of
Judaism, um songs, and maybe most
important, values, um and what that
means to us um as a group. There's lots
of singing.
Um
yeah.
>> Sorry. Sorry, keep going.
>> have even have singing. Yeah, no, and
then we even have some Hebrew learning.
Um, I think pretty much all the kids now
uh know the aleph-bet. Um
and you know, some of them are quite
advanced, yeah. That's amazing. So, Edna
and Zion, also um for you, explain how
um
how much you know about your Jewish Is
this something within your home you've
also grown up with Jewish cultural uh
practices in your family, or is this a
lot of what you're learning uh new in
the camp in addition to what you have in
the home?
>> Okay, for me, I was born into Judaism.
Um, my parents My parents started
Judaism 25 years ago. We had the left
the Messianic temple, and they moved
into Judaism. Um, 25 years ago, they
moved from Lagos State, Nigeria to
Abuja, Nigeria, and they found Gihon
Hebrew synagogue, where they met elders
there, and they still practicing
Judaism. They started teaching
themselves Hebrew. They started teaching
themselves the tefillah, and along the
line, some people abroad started sending
them books. They started studying, and
in 2021, a baidin came from US to um He
came from US for conversion, and my dad
and my elder brother did the conversion,
and in 2024, he came back again, and I
and my sisters, we did conversion, yeah.
So, I've been a Jew all my life.
>> So, now we need to get you to come to
Israel for next year.
>> [laughter]
>> Zion, yes, and what about you, young
man?
>> Okay. Um, I've been a Jew for 2 years,
and the reason is because my dad um
didn't much align with the New
Testament. So, he decided he wanted keep
it aside and focus on the Old Testament.
So, he found out that everything in the
Old Testament aligned with Judaism. So,
when we converted, I I like new to
everything, and coming to camp makes me
understand everything much better. We've
got camp, we've got we got I've got
friends now that help me understand
Judaism. I've got Ruth who
helps me with projects and questions I
do not understand. So, basically camp is
like heaven on earth.
>> [laughter]
>> So, overall this is so cool and
obviously Camp Sara is very fitting.
It's a a very big tent. Debbie, what is
your overarching goal? Is this something
you hope that could be, you know,
modeled in other other communities cuz
we know it's not just Nigeria. I mean
there's many communities within
different African nations that are
identifying as being part of the lost
tribes of Israel.
>> I mean absolutely. It's I mean the model
the first year we did camp 4 years ago
was really an experiment and we learned
a lot since then
and has nice structure that works and
we're really happy to, you know, bring
this to other communities. Rabbi Gershom
from Uganda was really interested in
expanding this and having a
camp in Uganda. And this the staff that
we have trained and that have been
counselors here come from all different
parts of Nigeria and actually this last
year we had some run a mini Camp Sara in
Port Harcourt and another mini Camp Sara
in Ebony State. So,
you know, it's
we we do a lot of fundraising in order
to maintain camp because this is not a
particularly wealthy community
but
as long as we have the resources there's
definitely the demand and we're happy to
expand this as much as possible.
>> Wow, amazing. Well, it's so beautiful
what you're doing and next year if I if
I could get some vacation time maybe
I'll come help be a camp counselor.
Thank you all.
>> [laughter]
[snorts]
>> Thank you.