From Deep-rooted Trauma to Laughing (and Crying) Again

These are no metaphors. They are true horror stories. And they are heartbreaking.

Since ADRA Camp in Morvedre, Valencia, Spain opened in 2003, the coordinators of its annual intercultural camp for children have listened to much more that they would have liked.

There was that child who knew his mother was practicing prostitution in the next room. There’s another one who heard a gunshot inside his house, only to find out his father had just killed himself, also in the next room.

Coordinators explained that there are also those who had been forced to enter bars to steal phones and wallets and then flee from the police. Others were sexually abused by relatives, and still others were forced to participate in drug trafficking or similar crimes. Others changed foster families so often that they were never able to develop a secure attachment to any figure. Still others were forced to flee from war with only their clothes on their backs. The list is endless.

From Heartbreak to Laughs

Against this background ADRA opened a cultural integration and values education camp, aimed at 42 boys and girls between 7 and 11 years old in situations of vulnerability or poverty, or at risk of social exclusion. The camp lasts a week and is free for participants, who are mostly selected by social services of the local municipality of Sagunto. ADRA Camp marked its nineteenth year of operation the week of August 23-30.

“When they arrive on the first day, they often don’t make eye contact with us,” says camp coordinator Sara Pastor as she shares what she has witnessed time after time through the years. “And certainly many of those kids have forgotten how to smile.”

Pastor shared, however, how after a few days of experiencing the love and care of the team of volunteers and staff, their barriers come down. During the week packed with activities, children get acquainted with biblical values and participate in activities and games that foster their often-dormant social skills and natural talents, Pastor reported.

“We learn together, we sing together, and we play together. We laugh,” Pastor says. “They eventually begin to also respond and laugh. They leave as different persons.”

Everyone Benefits

Pastor shared that at the same time, the initiative has been helping the young people who come as volunteers. According to her, it is a crucial age, when the volunteers’ personal identity is being defined.

“Having the opportunity to serve others and see that your problems may not be as important as they seemed to you helps to find meaning and direction in life,” Pastor explains. “Service to others is the implementation of the gospel of Jesus. The children teach us real lessons, and by the time the program is done, everyone feels they have benefited from it.”

During the 2026 European Adventist Youth Congress in Valencia in August, Pastor and her family shared what they have been doing and invited everyone present to join their efforts. She emphasized that the changes they see in participant children after a week of transformation are remarkable. The hardest part? The farewell, Pastor shared.

“On the last day they often throw themselves around our necks, crying and saying that they don’t want to go home and that they would like to stay with us,” she said. “Those tears make it worth all the effort.”

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